Buffy's New Job - Part 4 - Civil War
by BuffyL
Summary: This is part four of the Buffy's New Job series. What happens when friends face off against friends? Who's side does everyone pick? NOW UPDATED WITH ALL CHAPTERS! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Steve walked into Buffy's office at headquarters and found her face down on the desk snoring slightly. One of her hands was resting lightly on the computer mouse and the other hand was resting lightly on a folder with Bucky's picture paper-clipped to it. He smiled and shook his head. She had said she would be working late the night before, but when he had woken up that morning, she hadn't been there.

He squatted down beside her and brushed the hair away from her face. She started awake and pushed back from the desk, muscles bunched for a fight. Steve had nearly fallen backwards, but caught himself on the desk. She realized quickly where she was and who had woken her and her muscles relaxed.

"Sorry." Buffy said, looking sheepishly at her fiancé. "Oh god, I stayed the night here didn't I?"

"Yeah." Steve gave her a lopsided grin and stood up, leaning back against the desk. "Were you having a bad dream?"

"Uh, no. It was more like a memory that I was trying to change and couldn't." She gestured to the folder on the desk that had been under her hand. "I was trying to stop him from walking away that day at the river. It was so real…. I could feel the three bullet holes in me."

"You don't usually dream like that." He reached out and gently cupped the side of her face, noting that her temperature was slightly raised. "Everything ok?"

"Uh, one of the girls called me about one in the morning and said she saw him. I was trying to track down any more leads in that area because she lost him when she tried to follow him. I must've dozed off. What time is it? We've got to get on the jet to Lagos." She stood up and went to the large bedroom between hers and Steve's offices where they kept some extra clothes, one of each of their suits for emergencies, his shield, and the Slayer scythe.

Steve followed her into the room as she started to change clothes. "Buffy, you're taking too much on. Maybe you should back off on some things?" He knew the glare leveled at him now would happen and he'd come prepared for it. "Look, I know some things are too important to back off of, but there's at least one major thing that you shouldn't need to worry about."

"What?"

"The wedding." She stopped before she got her clean shirt on and turned to look at him in astonishment. He knew instantly that she thought he was calling it off. "Don't think that. You know I want to marry you. What I'm saying is that we don't need anything big and fancy. We don't need everyone there. We just need us and a couple of other people…."

She had finished putting her shirt on and walked over to him. "Steve…."

"We can go to the courthouse and have a justice of the peace marry us…."

"Steve." He shut his mouth against anything else he was about to say. "No. I want a wedding. Not a big one. Not anything stupid fancy. Not like Tony is desperately trying to plan for us. Which I know is just his way of coping with Pepper leaving him and that's why I've been indulging him some. Well, that and the fact that the man has weirdly good taste in wedding dresses. He's really like having a gay BFF to go wedding shopping with. Well, besides my actual gay BFF…." She shook her head and sighed. "The point is: I don't want it to be just a couple of people and us. I want the dress and I want to see you in a tux waiting for me at the top of the aisle. I want the stupid party afterwards with the cheesy music and the insane dancing and…. I want to be two normal people for one night. Even if it means being super busy and sleeping at my desk every now and then."

"The wedding is in barely two months. Would you consider pushing the date back?"

"No."

"Buff…."

"I can handle this." She set her hairbrush down and gave him a large smile in the mirror as she tied her hair up. "I promise." As they headed out of the office and down to the loading area for the jet, she snapped her fingers. "Remind me when I get back that I need to find somewhere to send Lily."

"She get into another fight?" Steve asked.  
"Yeah. With Nat of all people."

"That must've gone over well."

"About as well as a lead balloon. Yeah. Lily ended up with ten stitches on her collarbone and Nat's got a severely bruised hip and four stitches over her eyebrow. She's lucky that's all she got before Angel and I got there. Lily was ready to tear her head off."

"Was this after I left last night?"

"About an hour after, actually."

"What was Nat still doing here?" Buffy shot him a look that told him everything. "She and Angel are getting kinda serious, huh?"

"She hasn't slept with him. I'm not 100% sure if she's scared to or if he's scared to. But the fact that they're both cautious about it tells me that it's definitely leaning towards serious."

"Do you think she could trigger the curse?"

"I don't know. I mean, I can't be the only one that triggers it, right? I know he's been with a couple of women since me and didn't lose his soul, but…." Buffy trailed off when she spotted Sam waiting for them holding a large Starbucks coffee.

He held it out to her as they approached. "Cap said you spent the night here last night. Figured you'd need this very large mocha."

"Sam Wilson, you are a god among men and I love you." She took the coffee and kissed his cheek.

Sam fell into step with them as they continued towards the hanger. "I saw that Natasha isn't coming on this mission."

"She's taking a break for the next couple of days. My orders. She wasn't too happy, but if she hurts her hip any further, she'll end up breaking it."

"What did she do to her hip?"

"Lily picked a fight with her."

"Damn! When is that girl going to learn?"

"Probably when I send her to Siberia to hunt demon polar bears."

Sam and Steve both stopped, staring at her with wide eyes. "Is that a thing?" Sam asked. "Like, a for real thing?"

Buffy laughed at them. "I don't know. I've never been to Siberia."

"But demon polar bears, that could be real?" Steve asked.

She shrugged. "Maybe. I won't discount it. I've seen some weird things in my time. A girl who felt so invisible she actually _became_ invisible, aliens pouring out of the sky from a portal above New York, my friend Oz turns into a werewolf every full moon," She looked at Sam. "That time you got your ass handed to you by a guy the size of an ant…."

"Hey!" Sam glanced at Steve, but Buffy continued.

"And I myself have been turned into a rat before. So demon polar bear isn't that far out there, right?"

"Wait, what?!" Steve shook his head. "When were you turned into a rat!?"

"A long, long, long time ago. It was only for a day."

"How did that happen?" Sam asked.

"Uh, Xander accidentally put a spell on the entire female population of Sunnydale and one of the witches turned me into a rat because she was jealous that I was coming on to Xander."

"I thought you've never liked him romantically." Steve said.

"Ew. No. Of course not. It was the spell. If I acted like that in real life I would probably throw myself off a high, high tower…. Again." She shuddered dramatically. "Yuck. Thank god she did turn me into a rat because I definitely would've won Xander over if she hadn't done something and I really didn't need that kind of drama."

"Why, uh…. I mean, how did you come onto him?"

Buffy smiled at Steve. "I was wearing nothing but a short coat and high heels."

"That's not so bad." Sam said, causing Steve to look at him sharply. "What? It's not."

"I was 17 and he had a girlfriend."

"Oh, never mind. Bad Buffy."

"I've never been, nor will I ever be that level of skank ever again." She took a sip of her mocha and started walking again.

Sam and Steve joined her as Sam said, "That's not skanky, though. Not now that you've got a ring on that finger, anyway. I'm pretty sure you could pull that off now and it be the hottest thing anyone's ever seen since Angelina Jolie had that sexy fight scene with Brad Pitt. I could definitely see you and Steve going at it like that."

"Sam!" Steve snapped.

"Come on, Cap. You can't tell me that if you walked into your office and your fiancée was standing there in nothing but a short coat and high heels you wouldn't lock the door and go crazy."

"I, um…. Well…. I…."

"If it was Steve, I wouldn't even bother with the coat." Buffy said, just to make her fiancé's face turn an even darker shade of red. Sam let out a loud laugh and clapped Steve on the shoulder as he shook his head at them. Sam and Buffy had become close over the last few months. They had really bonded over seeing how far they could push Steve's embarrassment level. Steve didn't mind so much, though. He and Sam were like brothers and Steve got him back plenty for the ribbing. Sam was the one that Steve had picked for his Best Man at the wedding.

"Sam, when did you get beat up by an ant?" Steve asked.

"Never mind that. So, it's just us three and Wanda going out on this one?" Sam asked.

"Yup. Willow couldn't make it, but she says that Wanda is ready for a mission on her own." Buffy said.

"Let's get this show on the road then." Steve said.

* * *

Buffy sat in the café looking at her surroundings behind her dark sunglasses. She had a civilian jacket on and different colored boots, but she had her suit on underneath it. At the moment she was pretending to read a book and drink a cup of coffee. The coffee was needed, but it was making her feel a bit nauseous. Maybe it was jet lag?

"All right, what do you see?" Steve asked through the com in her ear.

It was Wanda who answered. "Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target."

"There's an ATM on the south corner, which means…."

"Cameras."

"Both cross streets are one way."

"So compromised escape routes."

"It means our guy doesn't care about being seen. He isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out. You see that Range Rover half way up the main block?"

"The red one? It's cute."

"It's also bullet proof. Which means it's private security." Buffy said. "Which means more guns. Which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us."

"You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?"

"Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature."

"You've definitely been hanging out with Natasha too much. Anybody ever tell you you're getting a little paranoid?" Sam asked.

Buffy shrugged. "Not to my face. Well, not lately anyway. Why? Did you hear something?"

"Eyes on target, folks." Steve said. "This is the best lead we've had on this guy in six months and I don't want to lose him."

"If he sees us coming, that won't be a problem. He kinda hates us." Sam said.

"Sam? You see that garbage truck?"

"Yeah?"

"Tag it."

"Awe, Sam gets to play with his new toy." Buffy said.

"And you know I'm excited about it." Sam retorted. "Using xray. I got a truck loaded with max weight and the driver's armed."

"Sounds like a battering ram. Go now, Sam."

"What…." Wanda started, but Sam had already leapt off the roof.  
"He's not hitting the police." Steve said.

Buffy grabbed Wanda's hand. "Time to go." She tugged the girl to her feet and they ran down the street to where all the commotion was. The garbage truck had targeted the Institute For Infectious Diseases and taken out the main gate. Two moving trucks full of armored-up guys had spilled out and were attacking the building. Wanda used her powers to fly up and away and Buffy sighed.

"Being a Slayer is still cool." She muttered to herself. "Not everybody needs the power of flight, you know."

"Body armor." Steve said. "AR15s. I make seven hostiles."

"I make five." Sam added.

"Sam." Wanda said.

"Four. Romlow's on the third floor."

"Wanda, just like we practiced." Steve said.

"What about the gas?" Wanda asked.

"Get it outside."

Buffy had made it to the building already and was taking out the guys that were now swarming out of the back side. She'd taken down one of the baddies and had confiscated his motorcycle. Rumlow had taken off when he'd spotted her, so she'd gone after him. "Rumlow has a biological weapon." Steve said in her ear.

"I'm already on it." Buffy said. She positioned herself on the bike and stood up. When she hit the brakes, she aimed the bike at one of the thugs and threw herself at another. In quick succession, she took out the other six in her way before Rumlow suddenly grabbed her by the hair and hauled her on top of the truck. She growled and elbowed Rumlow in the facemask. The armor barely dented and his painful hold on her hair didn't release. "If you ruin my hair before my wedding, I swear you will not last five seconds after that." She released a barrage of backwards kicks and punches. She grabbed one of her stun darts and slammed it right in his neck. Nothing happened, though.

"I don't work like that anymore!" Rumlow said. He opened a hatch door on the roof and threw her down inside the truck. "Fire in the hole." He dropped a grenade and shut the hatch.

There were two other thugs in the truck and as soon as they stood up, she was on them. She managed to wedge herself between them just as the grenade went off. The force of the blast knocked all three of them out of the back doors. She landed hard and the wind flew out of her. It took her a moment to recover and when she looked up, she saw Steve being blasted out of the building and Rumlow driving off in another truck.

"Sam, he's in an AFV heading north." Buffy choked out.

Steve appeared and found her laying on the ground. "Buffy!"

"I'm ok. I just needed a minute." He helped her to her feet. "One of those guys landed on my left kidney."

"I've got four, they're splitting up." Sam said.

"Oh good, I didn't wreck the bike too bad." Buffy said, going over to pick up her confiscated motorcycle. She revved the engine and Steve hopped on behind her. "I've got the two on the left."

"I'm going after Rumlow." Steve said, jumping off the bike.

Buffy ditched the bike not long after him and went after the two thugs. Steve, apparently, had found Rumlow and was taking him on now. Sam had gone after the other two thugs that had run off. Buffy was, at the moment, dodging pedestrians and shoppers. They'd ended up in a little shanty village of shops with homemade wares, foods, and other odd assortments.

"He doesn't have it!" Sam announced.

"Guess I'm the lucky winner today." Buffy said.

One of the thugs chose the wrong path and Buffy jumped up and over a stand, tackling him to the ground. She wasn't looking to kill him, so she held back on her punches. The other one showed up and pointed a gun at her. Her negative reaction to having a gun pointed at her kicked in and she took them both on ruthlessly. She managed to dislodge a gun from one of them and turned to hold it at the ready, but they were already in place. One had the biological weapon out and the other had his gun trained back on her.

"Drop it or I'll drop this." The one with the tube of orange liquid said.

Buffy looked between them, taking in their surroundings. She was faster than they were, easily. But was she faster than gravity? "Guess I'll find out." She said, spotting Sam's drone appear behind the man with the tube. It fired and she attacked the other guy, taking him out quickly and catching the tube before it hit the ground. "Payload secured. Thanks Sam."

"Don't thank me."

"I'm not thanking that thing."

"His name's Red Wing. Go on, pet him."

Buffy shook her head at the drone. "You're so weird, Sam." She turned to go help Steve. He was fighting Rumlow in an open area, but he was definitely on the defense. She jumped on Rumlow's back and threw her weight backwards, tossing him over her. Steve pulled her to her feet and they rushed over to keep Rumlow down. They didn't need to worry, though. He was on his knees pulling his helmet off. Steve grabbed him and went to haul him up, but stopped when he saw Rumlow's burned and mangled face.

"You should get a refund from your plastic surgeon. They really didn't do a good job." Buffy said.

"I think it looks pretty good, all things considered." Rumlow retorted.

"Who's your buyer?" Steve demanded.

"You know he knew you? Your pal, your buddy, your Bucky." Buffy looked over at Steve's stricken face.

"What did you say?"

"He remembered you. I was there. He got all weepy about it till they put his brain back in a blender. He wanted you to know something. He said to me 'please tell Rogers when you gotta go, you gotta go.' Now you two are coming with me."

Buffy grabbed Steve just as Rumlow activated a suicide vest. They fell backwards, but the explosion didn't move outwards toward them. Wanda had appeared and contained the blast. She threw Rumlow upwards towards the sky, but unfortunately she couldn't control where he went. The vest and Rumlow ended up exploding just beside a building nearby. Screams could be heard as people ran from the flames.

"Sam…. We need fire and rescue…." Steve said. "On the south side of the building."

"We've got to get up there." Buffy said.

* * *

Buffy and Steve sat in her office watching the newscast about the explosion in Lagos. The press was having a field day with it. The Avengers were being called into question. Poor Wanda was being raked through hot coals by every news station. This incident was the last thing they needed after Sokovia. They were still in hot water over that. Tony had taken most of the blame and was dealing with the fall out as best he could.

On the current news channel, the king of Wakanda was holding a press conference. Some of his diplomats had been killed in that building. Everything he said was like a hot spike through their hearts. They hadn't meant for anyone to get killed. Wanda had just been trying to protect people.

"The fight never should've escalated that far." Steve said quietly.

"It's not like we could've known he was going to blow himself up." Buffy said, half-heartedly trying to defend them.

"I should've clocked that vest long before she had to deal with it. He said Bucky and all of a sudden I was sixteen year old kid again in Brooklyn. People died. That's on me."

"Us. I was there, too, you know? And we lead this team together."

Steve shook his head. "This job…."

"We try to save as many people as we can. You know that sometimes it doesn't mean everybody gets saved. We just…. We find a way to deal with it because the next time…. Maybe no one gets saved."

"I should never have sent Wanda out there without me." Willow said, bursting into the office and startling them. "I'm so sorry, guys. She wasn't ready."

"No. She was good." Buffy assured the red headed witch. "It's just…. She miscalculated her throw. It…. Happens."

"It shouldn't have happened. The mind stone makes her powers of telepathy and mind manipulation so powerful, but the rest of the witchty stuff…. She's not that great. If I had gone, I could've controlled the throw or I could've been the one to send that weasel Rumlow up into the sky and we wouldn't have this problem on our hands. I take full responsibility for what happened due to Wanda's actions."

"That's sweet of you, Willow." Steve said. "But the call was ours. We chose to take her out solo, so this is on us."

"Have you talked to her?" Buffy asked. "She's been holed up in her room since we got back."

"I haven't talked to her. I was on a jet back here when I saw the news and came straight here to tell you I'm taking the blame for this. Sorry, Steve, but you're not convincing me otherwise. I have resolve face."

"It's useless to argue with her when she's got resolve face." Buffy said to Steve.

"I really am sorry, guys. I'll go talk to her." Willow turned and headed for the door.

Steve sighed. "There's going to be repercussions for this."

"Probably." Buffy sat down on the couch and curled her legs under her. She put her face in her hands when another wave of nausea hit her.

"You all right?" Steve asked. The couch sank next to her and she turned into him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her against him.

"I feel sick. I think it's from lack of sleep and then this whole Lagos thing…. I'm beyond stressed out and apparently it's making me sick."

"You did feel a bit warm before we left." His arm around her shoulders came up and he felt her forehead. "And you're a bit warm now." Suddenly she was in his arms and he was heading for the bedroom. "Come on, you're getting some rest."

"No time to rest now." She saw Tony's car pulling in with about six others. One of them was a limo with official flags on it. "We've got company."

"Who is it?" Steve asked, looking out the window with her still in his arms.

"I think that's the Secretary of State with Tony. Those repercussions got here a lot quicker than I thought they would."

* * *

Buffy, Steve, Sam, Wanda, Willow, Vision, Natasha, Tony, and James Rhodes were all convened in one of the conference rooms. Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross stood in front of them. He was in the middle of a story about his heart attack and was practicing his golf swings at the same time. Buffy wasn't listening very closely. She was playing with her nails.

It wasn't until he said, "The world owes the Avengers and the Slayers an unpayable debt" that she started to pay attention. "You've fought for us. Protected us. You've risked your lives. The Slayers have given their lives in protection of mankind for generations. And while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some who would prefer the word vigilantes."

"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Natasha asked.

"How about dangerous? What would you call US based, enhanced individuals, who routinely ignore sovereign orders and inflict their will wherever they choose, and who, quite frankly, seem less concerned about what they leave behind?" Ross stepped aside and a video started playing on the screen in front of the table. He'd narrated it, of course. It showed videos of the attacks in New York, DC, Sokovia, and then Lagos.

Steve noticed Wanda's reaction to the last images. "All right, that's enough." He said.

"These last few years you've operated with unlimited power with no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution." Ross took a large binder from one of his secret service members and slid it over to Wanda. "The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries that states that the Avengers and the Slayers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under a United Nations panel. Only when and if that panel deems it necessary."

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place." Steve said. "I'm sure we've done that."

"Tell me Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now? If I misplaced a couple of thirty megaton nukes, you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise, reassurance…. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground."

"So, there are contingencies?" Rhodes asked.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the accords. Talk it over."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Secretary, but there's nothing to talk over." Buffy said. "The Slayers have been around long before your government, or most governments, for that matter, were even thought of. We've been the ones that officials have begged for help from for centuries when they couldn't handle things themselves. How can you come in here now and tell me that we suddenly belong to the world's governments? We don't owe you anything."

"Two words, Miss Summers: Sunnydale, California."

"The only casualties in that battle were my girls."

"You turned an entire town into a massive crater. Thousands of people lost their homes and their businesses. Who do you think had to pay for that?"

"Personally, I don't care."

"Buffy…." Tony started.

"Shut up, Tony." She stood up and rounded back on Ross. "May I remind you, Mr. Secretary, that my sister and I lost _our_ home in that battle, too. We lost the place where our mother was buried. Our friends lost the place they were born and raised. We all had to start from scratch after that. And you know," She walked up to the Secretary and leveled an icy glare at him. "Not once did the government contact any of us about assistance for our losses. As far as I'm concerned, there is no discussion here. This isn't the first time the government has tried to put me on a leash. It probably won't be the last, but my answer will always be the same." She turned to leave, but Ross got in one last thing before the door shut behind her.

"Then perhaps you should look into retirement."

Buffy didn't stop walking until she was outside of the building. Steve came out to find her a few minutes later. "You ok?" He asked when he found her sitting on the ground leaning against a tree.

"Those accords are a load of crap, you know that right?" Buffy said, looking over at him as he sat down next to her. "The governments of the world are responsible for more deaths and more destruction than the Avengers have ever racked up. They go to war in countries that aren't their business and they say it's for the greater good. What the Avengers do…. What the Slayers do…. It _is_ the greater good. Without us, this world would belong to terrible things like Loki and his alien buddies or even worse than that. There are things out there that are too horrible to imagine that I personally have stopped. And the Slayers? We've only been fighting and dying to protect this stupid world for centuries and this is the thanks we get for it? We need to figure out a way to fight it because I'm not a performing monkey for the government and neither are you."

He smiled slightly. "I once drew myself as a performing monkey and Peggy caught me. She told me just about the same thing you just did. And then she encouraged me to go after Bucky and his squadron and save them."

"Well, history is repeating itself because we're still going after Bucky once we find him."

"They're all in there discussing these accords."

"Any idea who's on our side and who's for those stupid things?"

"Let's go find out."

Steve and Buffy walked into the lounge area where everyone was discussing the accords. "Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have." Rhodes said to Sam.

"So let's say we agree to this thing," Sam said. "How long before they low jack us like a bunch of common criminals?"

"117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam, and you're just like 'oh, that's cool.'"

"How long are you going to play both sides?"

"I have an equation." Vision announced.

"Oh, well, this will clear it up."

"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of lone, enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And, during the same period, a number of potentially world ending events has risen at a commensurate rate."

"Are you saying it's our fault?" Steve asked.

"I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge, incites conflict. Conflict breeds catastrophe…. Oversight. Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand."

"Boom." Rhodes said to Sam.

"Tony." Natasha said. "You're being uncharacteristically non hyper verbal."

"It's because he's already made up his mind." Buffy said.

"Boy, you know me so well." Tony retorted, getting up and heading over to the kitchen.

"Yeah. I do. It's probably because I've spent more time with you these last few years than you've actually spent with yourself in your whole life."

"Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache. That's what's going on, Buff. Just pain and discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal! Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?"

Buffy walked over and stood next to him, bumping him playfully with her shoulder. "Is this because I didn't like that gaudy flower arrangement you emailed me yesterday?"

"For the record, that was beautiful and very expensive."

"It was too big and I don't want a ton of flowers that are just going to die in a few days." She shook her head looked up at him. "Tell me I'm wrong, though. Tell me you haven't made up your mind on this."

Tony set his tablet on the counter in front of her and a picture of a young man popped up. "That's Charles Spencer, by the way. Great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA. Had a floor level gig at an Intel plant for the fall. But first, he wanted to put some miles on his soul before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. Paris or Amsterdam sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor in guess where? Sokovia. He wanted to make a difference, I suppose, but we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass."

"Tony…."

"You were right about one thing, Summers. There is no discussion here. There's no decision making process. We need to be put in check. Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations or boundaries, we're no better than the bad guys."

"Tony, if someone dies on your watch, you don't give up." Steve said.

"Who said we're giving up?"

"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame."

"Sorry, Steve, but that is dangerously arrogant." Rhodes said. "This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council. It's not S.H.I.E.L.D. It's not HYDRA."

"No, but it's run by people with agendas and agendas change."

"That's good." Tony said. "That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing."

"Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there's somewhere we need to go and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own."

"If we don't do this now, it's going to be done to us later. That's a fact and that won't be pretty."

"Are you saying they'll come for me?" Wanda asked.  
"We would protect you." Vision said.

"Maybe Tony's right." Natasha said. "If we had one hand on the wheel, we could still see…."

"Wait, aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?" Sam asked.  
"I'm just…. Reading the terrain. We've made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back."

"Focus up." Tony said. "I'm sorry. Did I just mishear you, or did you agree with me?"

"Oh, I want to take it back."

"No, no, no. You can't retract it."

"I agree with Natasha." Willow said. "These Accords…."

Buffy stopped listening when Steve's phone vibrated. She watched as he pulled it out and his face fell as he read the text message. "I have to go." He stood up abruptly and walked out. Everyone looked at Buffy expectantly and she shook her head, not knowing what the text had said. She glanced at Tony and walked out to go after Steve. She found him at the bottom of the stairs curled in on himself and crying into one of his hands.

"Hey." She moved up in front of him and he pulled her to him tightly. "Hey, what's wrong?" He shook his head as he buried it in her shoulder. "Ok, come on. Let's go somewhere more private." Buffy led them back to their private room between their offices and sat Steve down on the bed before sitting next to him and taking his hand. "Talk to me."

"Peggy…." His voice broke, but he didn't need to say more.

Tears welled in Buffy's eyes. "Oh god. Oh, Steve, no."

"We need to go to London. The funeral…."

"Yeah. Ok. Let's go home and get packed."

Steve didn't move, though. Buffy took him in her arms and held him tightly as he silently wept. She buried her face in his shoulder and cried, too. Peggy had become a friend to her before she'd gotten too sick to remember who anyone was. The lucid moments had finally stopped, so Steve and Buffy had stopped visiting. It was much too painful for him and Buffy didn't want to upset him or Peggy.


	2. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Buffy sat in the third row with Sam at the cathedral in London. Steve was one of the pallbearers for Peggy's Union Jack adorned casket. There were beautiful flowers everywhere and pictures of her throughout her life, including one of her and Steve together. Tony had given them his private jet to attend the funeral to give them privacy to grieve. Sam had come with them as support for Buffy. He knew that while Buffy was sad over Peggy's passing, she wasn't going to take the time to take care of herself. She would be anything Steve needed her to be without question or hesitation. Peggy had been one of the last ties to his old life, a life that Steve missed dearly despite having Buffy and Sam in his life now.

Sam had to admit that Buffy was doing an incredible job of being Steve's other half and anticipating everything he could possibly need, but he could see the strain. She was already stressed over the wedding and being one of the heads of the Avengers and now she had the Sokovia Accords to worry about. He wasn't sure she knew, but he'd heard her throwing up that morning.

Sam reached over and took Buffy's hand and she looked at him gratefully, leaning on him for support. Steve placed the casket in its place in front of the stairs leading to the alter and joined Buffy and Sam. Without missing a beat, Buffy released Sam's hand and took both of Steve's in hers. He squeezed tightly and didn't let up as the priest began the ceremony. Buffy didn't hear anything he said. She was focused on Steve. He didn't look up from their clasped hands and she felt tears hit her skin every so often.

"I would now like to invite Sharon Carter up to come and say a few words." The priest said.

A moment later Sam nudged her and Buffy looked up to see the woman that had been spying on her and Steve when they lived in DC. She'd pretended to be a nurse that lived in the third apartment on their floor and when Fury and Buffy had been shot, she'd been the first on the scene and revealed herself as an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. agent placed there by Fury. They hadn't seen her since that night, but they'd heard that she'd helped them out during the incident at the Triskelion.

"Steve." She said quietly. He looked up and she gestured at the podium. Steve's eyes widened when he saw who was standing there.

Sharon spotted them and nodded slightly before beginning her speech. "Margaret Carter was known to most as the founder of S.H.I.E.L.D., but I just knew her as aunt Peggy. She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. To a kid, that was pretty cool, but it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related." She directed that last comment at Steve. "I asked her once how she managed to balance diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. She said, 'compromise where you can. Where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye, and say no. You move." Sharon made eye contact with them one last time before leaving the podium.

The rest of the funeral went by in a haze. Steve helped take the casket out to the hearse, but decided he couldn't go to the burial. Buffy stayed in the church until he came back inside. Everyone was gone by that point. Sam had gone back to the hotel to get changed out of his suit after a lot of insisting by Buffy that she was ok.

"When I came out of the ice," Steve said, sitting down next to her. "I thought everyone I knew was gone. Then I found out she was alive…. I was just lucky to have her."

"She had you back, too." Buffy said.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For making you deal with me. I've been so engrossed in losing her…."

"Steve," She turned his face to look at her. "Don't ever apologize for that. I completely understand what you're feeling. She was your first love. I may be with you, but if anything happened to Angel…. I'd be just as lost and upset as you. And I know that you would have my back the same as I've got yours now."

"Thank you." He pulled her to him and held her tightly. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"I love you, too." She spotted Natasha walking up to them out of the corner of her eye and shifted around to look at her. "Who all signed it?"

"Tony, Rhodey, Willow, Vision." Natasha said.

"Clint?" Steve asked.

"Says he's retired."

"Wanda?" Buffy asked.

"TBD. I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the accords. There's plenty of room on the jet." Buffy and Steve exchanged glances. "Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it isn't the right path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together."

Steve made a sound in his throat and looked at Buffy. He already knew her answer, though. "I'm sorry, Nat. We can't sign it." He said.

"I know."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to make sure my friends were ok."

* * *

Buffy and Steve walked with Sharon into their hotel. She had met them at a coffee shop to talk about Peggy and answer some of their questions. "My mom tried to talk me out of enlisting." Sharon said. "But, um, not aunt Peggy. She bought me my first thigh holster."

"Very practical." Steve said.

"And stylish."

"So the CIA has you stationed over here now?" Buffy asked.

"I'm in Berlin. Joint terrorism task force."

"That sounds like buckets of fun."

"Don't be jealous." Sharon smiled at Buffy. As Sharon the nurse, she and Buffy had had brief conversations in the hallway of their apartment building that could've led to friendship if she hadn't been lying about who she really was.

"I've been meaning to ask you," Steve said. "When you were spying on us from across the hall…."

"You mean when I was doing my job?"

"Did Peggy know?"

"She kept so many secrets. I didn't want her to have one from you."

Sam stopped them before they made it to the elevator banks. "There's something you've got to see." He said.

Sam led them upstairs to their room and as soon as they were in, he turned on the TV. The UN conference to ratify the accords had been bombed. A lot of people had been killed, including the Wakandan king. Their prime suspect was James Buchannan Barnes. There was a surveillance video of him leaving the scene. Sharon, who had been on the phone, stepped up and said she had to leave.

As soon as she was gone, Buffy looked at Steve. "We need to find him before anyone else does."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Sam asked. "We've been looking for over a year."

"One of my girls saw him in Bucharest the other night. We need to go there and track him down."

"But he was just in Vienna."

Buffy shook her head. "I don't think he was. Camera images can be manipulated. This is too convenient. We don't sign the accords and suddenly the one person we've been looking for, for months and months just shows up and sets a bomb off at the UN conference? I don't buy it."

"She's got a point." Steve said.

"Of course she does." Sam said. "She's the smart one."

"So let's get changed and get going." Buffy said, moving towards her suitcase. "We've got work to do."

"You brought your suit to a funeral?" Sam asked, looking over her shoulder.

"I seem get shot a lot, so…. I bring it as a precaution whenever I travel." She grabbed a pair of jeans and a green sweater before heading into the bathroom to change. After hanging her black dress up, she grabbed her phone, remembering that Natasha was at that conference.

"Yeah?" Natasha said.

"You ok?" Buffy asked.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks. I got lucky." Natasha was silent for a moment. "I know how much Barnes means to Steve, but I need you two to stay home. You'll only make this worse for all of us. Please."

"Are you saying you'll arrest us?"

"No. But someone will. If you interfere, that's how it works now."

"It's that far gone, now, huh? Steve and I should be the ones to bring Bucky in."

"Why?"

"Because we're the ones least likely to die trying. Stay safe, Nat." Buffy hung up the phone and threw the rest of her clothes on. She walked out and grabbed a pair of boots to slip on.

"She tell us to stay out of it?" Steve asked, somehow knowing who she'd been talking to. He'd changed into jeans, a t-shirt, and was putting on a leather jacket.

"She might have a point." Sam said.

"He'd do it for me."

"In 1945 maybe. I just want to make sure we consider all our options. People that shoot at you two, usually wind up shooting at me."

"You don't have to come, Sam. I get how dangerous this is. But he's in there." Buffy said. "He saved us. Now we should at least try do the same for him."

"Oh, I'm with you. I said it once and I'll say it again: Where you two go, so do I."

"Then we're going to Bucharest."

* * *

"He's not home." Karidad said, showing Buffy and Steve where Bucky was living. "I managed to follow him without him detecting me."

"Good work, Kari." Buffy said.

"Buffy, what's going to happen to us? I heard about those accords and that the governments want to control us."

"I don't know, Kari. But I want you and the rest of the girls who don't want to sign them to lay low, ok? Definitely don't go back to the compound. We'll figure this out." She squeezed the girl's upper arm and gave her a reassuring smile.

"What about Faith?"

Buffy shook her head. "I don't know. I haven't seen or heard from Faith in a few years now. I don't even know if she's still alive." She turned and headed up the fire escape of the apartment building.

"How long has she been a Slayer?" Steve asked as they climbed.

"Since Sunnydale. She's good at it."

"Who's Faith?"

"Uh, Faith is a very long story. She and I…. We don't have a good history. Nutshell, she was the Slayer that was called when Kendra died and she went evil. Then she went good again. Then she tried to take my place as head Slayer, but ended up getting people killed. She tried to work with us at Slayer HQ in London, but she took off a few months before I met you and I haven't heard from her since. I have heard that she pops up every now and then, but I'm not very high on her priority list and she's not high on mine." Buffy looked around the small, one roomed apartment as they climbed through the window into Bucky's apartment. It had a small kitchen, a couch, a twin bed, and a small bathroom. It was also kind of messy. She walked over to the bed and looked under it. When she stood up, her head spun and she sat down on the bed, taking a deep breath as she put her face in her hands.

"Heads up, guys." Sam said in their ears. "German special forces approaching from the south."

"Understood." Steve said. "Is she the Slayer that you mentioned tried to kill Angel?"

"Yes." Buffy didn't look up from her hands when she felt a presence in front of her. "I feel nauseous again." She said, thinking it was Steve. When he didn't answer or move, she looked up to see Bucky standing there staring intently at her. "Oh. Hi."

Steve took a step forward and Bucky's attention diverted to him. "Do you know me?" He asked Bucky.

"You're Steve." Bucky said. "I read about you in a museum."

"They've set the perimeter." Sam said.

"I know you're nervous." Steve said to Bucky. "You've got plenty of reason to be. But you're lying."

"I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore." Bucky said.

"They're entering the building." Sam said.

"We got it, Sam." Buffy said. She stood up and looked at Bucky. "The people that think you did are coming here now. They're not planning on taking you alive."

"That's smart." Bucky said. "Good strategy."

"They're on the roof." Sam said. "I'm compromised."

"Then get off the roof." Buffy said to him.

"This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck." Steve said.

"It always ends in a fight." Bucky said, pulling off the glove to reveal his metal hand.

"Five seconds, guys!" Sam said.

"You pulled us from the river." Steve insisted. "Why?"

"I don't know." Bucky said.

"Three seconds." Sam said.

"Yes you do." Steve said.

"Breech! Breech!"

Buffy caught the grenade that flew through the window and dropped it to the ground. Steve turned his shield upside down over it just before it went off. The shield took the brunt of the explosion as Bucky threw the kitchen table at the door, blocking it from opening. Buffy was pulled backwards by Bucky just as special force members came flying through the windows. They both kicked out at the same time, taking on the first two guys through the window. Steve kicked his shield at the guy that came through the back door.

Bucky was throwing his guy around like a rag doll while Buffy just used one of her tranq darts on hers. "Bucky, stop!" She grabbed his arm and threw another dart at the guy, knocking him out. "You're going to kill someone."

"I'm not going to kill anyone." Bucky insisted as he threw a backpack he pulled from under the floorboards out the window.

Steve was pulled out of the window and onto the balcony by another special forces guy. His shield was left inside. Buffy called it to her and pulled Bucky behind it as another guy came in firing his gun. "Go!" Bucky yelled in her ear spinning her around to go help Steve. She dove out the window, tackling the guy fighting Steve away. Steve took the shield back and they took on the next wave of guys. They were concentrating on getting inside the building, though, so the two of them jumped back inside.

Bucky had gone into the stairwell and was taking them on as he made his way down. Steve took away the radio of one man trying to radio for backup. Buffy just pushed people out of her way to get to Bucky. She was small enough that she easily ducked and wove her way through the men, punching and kicking when she needed to. Suddenly a metal hand pulled her forward and she and Bucky went tumbling over the railing just as a machine gun shot the air where she'd just been. They fell five stories before Bucky caught the edge of a railing and stopped their fall.

"I'm sorry." He said to Buffy before turning and jumping out of the window.

She rolled her eyes with a sigh as she realized how far she had to jump. "You're going to make me chase you out there, aren't you? Damn it, Bucky."

Suddenly a guy dressed in an all black suit attacked Bucky. He was fast and strong. Bucky seemed to be having trouble fighting him. Buffy let out an exasperated sigh before taking a running leap out of the window. She landed on the rooftop, rolled, and popped to her feet in a run. The cat man had Bucky on the ground with Bucky holding the cat man's claws mere inches from his face. Picking up speed, Buffy tackled the cat man away from Bucky.

"Buffy!" She heard Steve yell somewhere behind her. She looked up just in time to catch Steve's shield out of the air and duck behind it as a barrage of bullets from a helicopter rained down at them. She noticed that the cat man's suit deflected the bullets without him even flinching. "Oh, how is that fair?" She muttered.

Sam flew in and kicked the helicopter's back end, knocking it off its axis. They stopped shooting and Buffy stood up from behind the shield. The cat man was relentless in his chase after Bucky. Steve caught up to Buffy as they ran after Bucky and the cat man.

"Any idea who this guy is?" Steve asked.

"None." She allowed Steve to swing her up on his back as they jumped down the six stories to the street. They separated just before they hit the ground and both of them rolled to their feet. "But I am getting _really_ tired of people shooting at me."

Bucky jumped down into the underground street with the cat man not far behind. Steve and Buffy didn't hesitate. They jumped in, too, dodging oncoming cars. The sound of multiple sirens came from behind them as they ran. One of the police cars was yelling at them to stand down.

"I'm going to get us a faster ride." Steve said. He jumped and curled up on his shield, landing on the windshield of the police SUV. It pulled to a stop and he yanked the man out before kicking the shattered windshield off.

Buffy dove into the passenger's seat and Steve hit the gas. "You always make me nervous when you drive at high speeds."

"Oh, come on, sweetheart. I'm not _that_ bad." He wove his way through traffic, grateful for the flashing lights that made people get out of his way. Suddenly there was a loud crash on the back end of the SUV. "That wasn't me."

Buffy looked back to see the cat man clinging to the back side of the SUV. "Nope. It was our new cat friend."

"Sam, we can't shake this guy." Steve said, side-swiping another police SUV to try and shake the cat man.

"I'm right behind you." Sam answered back.

Up ahead, police cars flooded their end of the street. Bucky jumped over to the other side of traffic and Steve didn't hesitate, barreling through the barricade. Bucky managed to grab a motorcycle and turned it around in mid air as he jumped on. "Ok, when we catch him, I'm going to need him to teach me that." Buffy said.

The cat man moved to the top of the car and made his way forward. Buffy tried to catch him before he jumped, but she missed when her scythe caught on the center console. Bucky managed to thwart the cat man's attack and toss him away. Sam flew in behind them and the cat man caught his ankle. Bucky threw an explosive up to collapse part of the street above them.

"Get out!" Steve yelled, yanking the wheel to the side.

Buffy dove out the front of the window and landed on her feet. She kept running to avoid the collapsing street and the rolling SUV, seeing Steve running right behind her. The cat man had somehow managed to get ahead of them and was attacking Bucky again. Steve tackled the cat man away as Buffy helped Bucky to his feet. They were suddenly surrounded by police cars and War Machine flew in.

"Stand down now." Rhodes said. Steve put his shield on his back and put his hands in the air. "Congratulations you two. You're criminals."

Buffy rolled her eyes and put her hands in the air, too. "Wouldn't be the first time, Rhodey."

The police swarmed them and began putting them in handcuffs. Sam chose that moment to make his way into the chaos and they arrested him, too. The cat man took his helmet off to reveal himself as T'Challa, the new king of Wakanda.

"Your Highness." Rhodes said, sounding just as surprised as Buffy and Steve felt at seeing the African prince.

* * *

They were allowed to change into civilian clothes and then driven to Berlin in a caravan of police vehicles. The handcuffs were taken off, but Bucky was put in a maximum security containment cell that was placed in an armored vehicle. In the police van, Sam sat in the back, Steve and Buffy in the middle, and T'Challa in the front. They were separated from the driver by a partition.

"Awe, this was our first mission together, Steve." Buffy said. He shot her a smile that told her he'd been thinking of it, too.

"So you like cats." Sam said to T'Challa.

"Sam." Steve warned.

"What? The dude shows up dressed like a cat and you don't want to know more?"

Steve sighed and looked at T'Challa. "Your suit, is it vibranium?"

"The Black Panther has been a protector of Wakanda for generations." T'Challa said. "The Panther passed from warrior to warrior. But now because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of king. Now I ask you as both warrior and king, how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?"

They arrived at the facility and were taken underground. Bucky was unloaded from the armored vehicle. Steve looked over at him, but Bucky avoided eye contact. Steve, Buffy, Sam, and T'Challa walked over to where Sharon Carter stood with a short man in a grey suit and a few armed men.

"What's going to happen?" Steve asked.

"Same things that ought to happen to you." The short man said. "Psychological evaluation and extradition."

"This is Everett Ross, the deputy task force commander." Sharon said.

"What about a lawyer?" Steve asked.

"Lawyer, ha! See that their weapons are placed in lock up. We'll write you a receipt."

"I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that." Sam said as they marched his wings and suit past him.

Buffy looked longingly at her scythe and sighed as they walked it by her. Steve took her hand and gave it a squeeze. They both looked back at Bucky who was staring after them. He looked away when he caught their eyes.

"You'll be provided with an office instead of a cell." Everett said. "And do me a favor, stay in it."

"I don't intend on going anywhere." T'Challa said.

"For the record, this is what making things worse looks like." Natasha said, falling into step with Steve and Buffy.

"He's alive." Steve retorted. They walked into a room where Tony was talking on the phone. He was apparently having a heated discussion with whoever was on the other line.

"Try not to break anything while we fix this." Natasha said.

"Oh, you bet there'll be consequences." Tony said. "Well, obviously you can quote me on that because I just said it. Is there anything else? Thank you, sir." He walked up to Buffy, Steve, and Sam.

"Consequences?" Buffy asked.

"Secretary Ross wants you three prosecuted. I had to give him something."

"I'm not getting that shield back, am I?" Steve asked.

"Technically, it's the government's property. Wings, too." Natasha said.

"That's cold." Sam said.

"Warmer than jail." Tony shot back.

"So give me back my scythe. That's mine. I King Arthur-ed it out of a rock." Buffy said.

"Tony signed the accords. All the technology on it belongs to the government." Natasha said as she and Tony walked away.

"So take the technology off and give it back. I don't need the upgrades. That scythe belongs to me." Tony and Natasha disappeared around a corner. Buffy crossed her arms and pouted slightly. "Pretty sure a government goon isn't going to be able to feel the power in that thing. They'd probably just cut an appendage off trying to examine it."

Sam went off to see where they were hiding his suit while Steve and Buffy were escorted to the glass-walled conference room in the middle of the hub. They could see the security camera footage of Bucky being installed into a cell. Buffy sat down heavily and took a deep breath.

"You ok?" Steve asked, moving over to her side.

"Yeah. Just…. Dizzy. And kind of tired."

He put his hand on her forehead. "You still feel warm. That's not normal."

"All this stress isn't normal."

"You sure it's just stress? You might be fighting off the flu or something. Didn't a couple of the girls have it recently?"

"Yeah. Maybe all this stress has got my immune system going haywire and it let the flu in."

"Well, your system's good at fighting it. I'm sure you'll start feeling better soon."

"I better. Not sure I want to deal with this crap while I'm fighting off the flu."

Tony appeared twenty minutes later looking slightly smug. "Hey, you guys want to see something cool?" He asked, holding up a small case. "I pulled this up from dad's archives. A little timely." He set the case down to reveal two old fountain pens in it. "FDR signed the Lend-Lease bill with these in 1941. It provided support to the Allies when they needed it most."

"Some would say it brought our country closer to war." Steve said.

"See if not for these, you wouldn't be here. I'm trying to, uh…. What do you call it? An olive branch. Is that what you call em?"

"Pepper is better at the olive branch thing." Buffy said.

"She's better at a lot of things."

"What happened, Tony? You avoid the topic like the plague and Pepper isn't taking my calls. She probably thinks I'm trying to talk to her for you."

Tony sighed. "Few years ago, as you know, I almost lost her, so I trashed all my suits." Buffy nodded, remembering the incident. "Then we had to mop up HYDRA, and then Ultron…. My fault…. And then, and then, and then I never stopped. Because the truth is I don't wanna stop. I don't want to lose her. I thought maybe the Accords could split the difference. In her defense, I'm a handful." Tony stood up and sighed. "You know dad was a pain in the ass, but he and mom always made it work."

"You know, I'm glad Howard got married." Steve said. "I only knew him when he was young and single."

"Oh really? You two knew each other? He never mentioned that maybe only a thousand times. God I hated you."

"Tony." Buffy scolded.

"We don't mean to make things difficult." Steve said.

"I know, because you're very polite people." Tony said sarcastically.

"If we see a situation pointing south, we can't ignore it. Sometimes I wish we could."

"No you don't."

Steve glanced at Buffy with a small smile. "No. We don't. Sometimes…."

"Sometimes I want to punch you in your perfect teeth. But I don't want to see you gone. Either of you. We need you. So far nothing's happened that can't be undone if you just sign. We can make the last 24 hours legit. Barnes gets transferred to an American psych center instead of a Wakandan prison."

Steve and Buffy looked at each other and had one of those silent conversations that deeply committed couples are capable of having. Finally Steve picked up one of the pens and stood up. "We're not saying it's impossible, but there would have to be safeguards."

"Sure. Once we've put out the PR fire, the documents can be amended. I'd file a motion to have you two and Wanda reinstated."

"What about Wanda?" Buffy asked.

"She's fine. She's confined to the compound, currently. Vision's keeping her company."

"Oh god, Tony!" Steve said. "Every time. Every time I think you seen things the right way…."

"It's 100 acres with a lap pool. It's got a screening room. There's worse ways to protect people."

"Protection, Tony?" Buffy asked. "Is that how you see it? It's not protection, it's imprisonment!"

"She's not a US citizen and they don't grant visas to weapons of mass destruction!"

"She's not a weapon, Tony! She's a kid!"

"Give me a break! I'm doing what has to be done to save us from something worse."

"You keep telling yourself that." Steve said. He set the pen back down in front of the case. "Hate to break up the set." He walked out and Buffy put her face in her folded arms on the table.

"Buff…." Tony started. "I'm trying to protect you."

"Why?"

"Don't you get it? Everything I've done for you over these last few years, you haven't put it together? You're not just my friend. You're my family, Summers. The little sister I never had or knew that I wanted. I care about you and I don't want to see you end up in jail or worse."

"I've been worse. Twice. It's not so bad."

"Don't talk like that. Losing Pepper…." He shook his head and reached out to touch her shoulder. "I can't lose you, too, kid."

She looked up from her arms. "Please tell me that you at least understand where we're coming from."

"Of course I do! Of course. You and I? We've talked about the Initiative. I know about everything they put you through and S.H.I.E.L.D…. But this? This is different."  
"How?"

"Because we'll make it different."

"That's where you're wrong. We won't be able to make a difference because we'll be at the mercy of these governments. If we go against them because we know it's the right thing to do or they just up and decide one day that we're too…. Too volatile…. They'll get rid of us. One way or another." Steve walked back in with a glass of water. "Thank you. I needed that." She looked back at Tony. "It's happened before and it will happen again. These Accords…. They're just one step away from tattooing numbers on our forearms and tossing anyone who's different in a camp somewhere and I will be damned if I let that happen to myself or anyone I care about."

"That's a bit extreme."

"History always repeats itself in some form or another." Buffy reached over and squeezed Tony's hand. "For the record, I care about you, too and I really do appreciate everything you've done for me and Dawn and for Steve. You're my family as much as I am yours." She let go of his hand. "But until we can come to a compromise that works for everyone, we won't sign those Accords."

Tony let out an explosive sigh and got up, walking out of the room. Steve watched him go for a moment before turning back to Buffy. "You ok?"

"Yeah. Just trying to make a brick wall see reason."

Sam walked into the conference room and sat down. "So what's the plan?"

"We don't have one." Steve said. "We've been too busy arguing with Stark to think of one." He moved over to watch the monitors, but they couldn't hear what was being said. There was a man in the holding cell with Bucky.

Sharon walked in and handed Sam a small stack of papers. "The receipt for your gear."

"Bird costume?" Sam asked incredulously. "Really?"

"I didn't write it." Sharon looked around before stealthily pushing a button. The monitors inside the room changed to the scene with Bucky and the man and they could hear what was being said.

"I just need to ask you a few questions," The man said. "Do you know where you are, James? I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James."

"My name is Bucky." Bucky said. Steve's hand reached out and Buffy took it without even looking. She was looking at the surveillance photo from the UN bombing.

"Why would the task force even release this photo?" Buffy asked.

"To get the word out? Involve as many eyes as we can?" Sharon asked.

"Right. That's a really good way to flush a guy out of hiding. Set off a bomb, get your picture taken, and suddenly you've got seven billion people looking for the Winter Solider in every nook and cranny of the world."

"Are you saying someone framed him to find him?"

"We looked for the guy for two years and we found nothing." Sam said.

"We didn't bomb the UN." Steve said, following Buffy's line of thinking. "That turns a lot of heads."

"That doesn't guarantee that whoever framed him would get him. It guarantees that we would." Sharon said.

"Exactly." Buffy looked at the monitor and pointed at the man in the room with Bucky. "Who exactly is that guy?"

The power went off just then. Everything went dark before the emergency lights kicked on. Everyone in the hub outside the conference room moved into action. Buffy stood up and Steve turned around.

"Sub level five, east wing." Sharon said.

Steve and Buffy shot out the door with Sam trying to keep up. By the time they found where they were going, there were bodies laying everywhere. Some of them were unconscious, others were dead. The containment cell that Bucky had been in was torn apart and the man that had been in the room with him was laying on the ground calling for help.

Buffy didn't buy it. She calmly walked over and hauled him to his feet with one hand before slamming him against the wall. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"To see an empire fall." The man said.

Sam suddenly went flying past them and Steve ran out to take on Bucky. Sam lay crumpled on the floor. The way he'd landed didn't look so good for him. Behind her, she heard the sound of metal ripping and looked back to see Bucky throw Steve into the suddenly open elevator shaft. "Steve!" Buffy screamed. Bucky rushed at her and grabbed her away from the man she was holding. She was forced to go on the defensive against Bucky. He managed to knock her off balance and kicked her in the chest. She skidded across the floor and down into the elevator shaft. Luckily she managed to catch herself on the edge of the doorway.

"Go after him." Steve said below her. The elevator was well above them and the bottom of the shaft was only two floors down. Buffy hauled herself up to see that Sam had recovered and was chasing after the man posing as a psychiatrist. Bucky was gone. She heard the sounds of fighting and followed them. She found Bucky in the cafeteria area taking on Sharon and Natasha. Tony was on the ground with a nasty shiner starting.

"You ok?" She asked, pausing only briefly.

"A little late, aren't you?" Tony quipped.

"Sorry. I got kicked down an elevator shaft." She tackled Bucky away from Natasha before he could choke the life out of her. She got him in a choke hold, pulling him down backwards. "Bucky, stop! This isn't you!" He tried to flip her off him, but she wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging tightly and still trying to choke him down.

Suddenly T'Challa tackled both Bucky and Buffy. She was dislodged from Bucky and rolled painfully to a stop against a wall. Bucky had landed on one of her ribs. Natasha came over and checked on her, but Buffy stood up and looked around for Bucky. She could hear the sounds of fights, some gunfire, and crashing sounds coming from the stairwell.

Buffy launched herself at the stairs, kicking T'Challa across the room. Steve had somehow already beaten her to the roof. To her complete surprise, he was holding the helicopter to the building with just his arms. He was keeping it and Bucky from flying away.

She didn't even think about what she was doing next. Her feet flew on their own and she jumped, landing on the railing of the helicopter, and ripped the door off the helicopter before throwing herself inside. Her arm went around Bucky's neck and she resumed her choke hold. He suddenly swerved the helicopter sideways trying to dislodge her and Steve. Steve barely missed being severed in half and Buffy tightened her hold on Bucky. The helicopter came to a stop and it started to tip over the side of the building.

Steve got to his knees and realized that the helicopter holding the two most precious people in his life was about to go over. Before he could grab it, Bucky's metal arm lashed out and managed to catch Steve's neck through the window. The helicopter went over just as Buffy and Steve caught each other's eyes. They fell and when they landed in the water, she felt her head bounce off something. She saw spots, but refused to give in to the blackness.

Then Steve was there. He pulled on her and got her out of the door that she'd ripped off. He pushed her towards the surface as he turned to get Bucky. Buffy swam towards the surface as best she could, but her vision was going in and out. Steve came up beside her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled both her and Bucky to the surface and Buffy sucked in a deep breath as they broke through the water.

"I'm going to be sick." Buffy said.

"We've got to get out of here first." Steve said. "Hold onto me." Holding Bucky and carrying Buffy on his back, he made for the edge of the water.


	3. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Buffy opened her eyes and realized she was laying on Steve's jacket in a dingy looking room of what seemed to be an old warehouse. She turned her head and saw Bucky passed out with his metal arm in a clamp. "Hey." Steve appeared beside her and he sat down next to her. "You feeling any better?" He smoothed her hair out of her face.

"Why is it that whenever we're around your best friend, we end up in an aircraft crash?" Buffy asked.

"At least you weren't shot this time."

"True."

"Your head took a pretty serious beating and you've got a pretty nasty gash on the back of your head." Steve helped her to sit up and lean back into him. "You're also still feeling warm."

"I wish I felt warm. I'm kind of cold."

"Not gonna throw up again, are you?"

"Maybe." She sighed. "No way in hell that you're leaving me behind, though. I'll power through this."

"I know you will." He kissed her neck. "You're one tough cookie."

"Oh, please don't mention food of any kind."

"Sorry."

"Steve…." Bucky groaned from across the room.

Steve helped Buffy to stand and they moved a little closer to him. "Which Bucky are we talking to?"

"Your mom's name is Sarah. You used to wear newspapers in your shoes."

"You can't read that in a museum."

"And just like that we're supposed to be cool?" Sam asked from the doorway. Buffy hadn't even noticed he was there.

"What did I do?" Bucky asked.

"Enough." Steve said.

"I knew this would happen. Everything Hydra put in me is still there. All he had to do was say the god damn words."

"Who was he?"  
"I don't know."

"People are dead. The bombing, the setup, the guy went through all of that just to get ten minutes with you. I need you to do better than 'I don't know'."

"Steve," Buffy scolded. "Don't be so pushy. He's been through a lot." She walked over to Bucky and knelt down in front of him. Searching his face for a moment, she nodded and hit the lever to release his arm.

"Thank you." Bucky said. "I didn't get to tell you before since we were a little busy, but you're gorgeous."

"There's the Bucky I've heard so much about. Nice to finally meet you." She helped him to sit down on the ground and then sat down beside him, noticing Steve's amused face. "What can you remember about that guy beyond the fact that he was really annoying?"

Bucky nodded. "He wanted to know about Siberia."

"Were there demon polar bears?" Sam asked. Buffy and Steve both shot him glares and Bucky just looked confused.

"What's in Siberia?" Buffy asked.

"It's where I was kept." Bucky said. "He wanted to know exactly where."

"Can you think why he'd need to know that?"

"Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier."

"That's…. Unexpected."

"How are there more Winter Soldiers?" Steve asked.

"In 1991, I was sent out to retrieve the serum that made you." Bucky said, looking at Steve. "Howard Stark recreated it and they sent me to steal it. There were five pouches and they gave the serum to five Hydra agents."

"Who were they?" Buffy asked.

"The most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in Hydra history and that was before the serum."

"Did they all turn out like you?" Sam asked.

"Worse."

"The doctor," Steve said. "Could he control them?"

"Enough."

"He said he wanted to see an empire fall." Buffy said.

"These guys could do it. They speak thirty languages and can hide in plain sight. Infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize…. They could take a whole country down in one night and you'd never see it coming."

"Very comforting."

"I'm sorry."

Buffy shook her head. "It's not your fault."

"This would've been a lot easier a week ago." Sam said.

"If we call Tony…." Steve said.

"He'll never believe us."

"He might believe her." Steve gestured at Buffy.  
"I'm not willing to risk it." Buffy said. "He's very much on the side of those stupid Accords. And even if he did believe me, we don't know if the Accords would even allow Bucky to help."

"We're on our own." Steve said.

"Maybe not." Sam said. "I know a guy."

"I know one, too." Buffy said. "Who's your guy?" Her eyes brightened when she realized who he was talking about. "The ant guy? Please tell me the ant guy because I want to thank him for that riveting ten minutes on the security cameras."

"There's security footage?" Steve asked. "Why haven't you shown me?"

"Because he has some footage of you and I that we thought didn't exist. So we called a truce and we both destroyed our blackmail."

"Security footage of us from when?"

"The training room a few months ago."

Steve looked confused for a moment, but then the memory dawned on him and his face reddened. "Oh." He shook his head. "I told you that would come back to bite us."

"Hey, you started it, Captain. I was just finishing it."

"Who's your guy?" Sam asked.

"An old friend who's really good with a bow."

"Good." Steve said. "We can ask him to pick up Wanda."

"You think she'll be ok with that?"

"I honestly don't know. But we need her."

"I don't disagree with that. Especially with Willow signing those accords."

"Any idea why she did?"

Buffy sighed. "Guilt? It's made my best friend do some interesting things in the past."

"It worries me that she can flay a guy alive with just a flick of her hand." Sam said. "Thanks for that image."

"She would never do that to any of us. Hey, while we're at it, I want my scythe back. Think Sharon will help us?"

"Probably. You call Clint, Sam you call your guy, I'll call Sharon." Steve nodded and walked out. Sam left a few seconds later.

Buffy looked over at Bucky. "You ok?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" At her confused look he nodded at where Steve's jacket was laying. "I heard you say you're feeling sick."

"It's on and off. I'll survive. By the way, thank you for saving us that day at the river."

"That day is still really…. Confusing."

"I had a lot of blood loss that day, so I'm right there with you."

"I'm sorry about shooting you…. Three times."

Buffy shrugged. "I'm over it. Why did you save me that day? You didn't know me. You barely seemed to remember Steve."

Bucky looked over at her. "I remembered Steve. It came back to me…. Well, enough of my memories did, anyway, that I knew I cared about him once. And the way you looked at him and touched him…. I knew you loved him and I was glad he had you. I couldn't let you die."

"I appreciate that." Buffy looked at where Steve had disappeared.

Bucky picked up her left hand. "When is the wedding?"

She admired the ring with Bucky. "I have no idea now. It was supposed to be in a month and a half, but we're kind of fugitives now. I think a wedding would draw too much attention. Besides, Tony might be mad enough at me to not pay for anything anymore." She sighed. "Guess my dream of being two normal people having a completely normal wedding is out the window."

"If that's what you want, Steve will find a way to get it for you."

Buffy squeezed his hand. "It really is nice to have you back, Bucky." She stood up. "I need to call Clint."

* * *

Buffy sat in the back seat of the stolen old VW bug with Bucky. Sam was sitting in the passenger's seat and Steve had driven. He was currently getting out of the car to meet Sharon. She had agreed to bring them their gear.

"Could you move your seat up?" Bucky asked Sam.

"No." Sam said, not even looking back.

"Seriously?" Buffy asked. She kicked his seat. "Be nice, Sam."

"I am nice."

"Why the hate for Bucky?" Sam didn't answer, so Buffy scooted into the middle seat and leaned forward to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug. "Just cause he's back doesn't mean we're going to ditch you, Sam. Steve and I love you. We've adopted you as our own."

"Quit getting sappy on me." He was smiling as he said it.

She kissed his cheek and saw Steve pull her scythe out of Sharon's car's trunk. He wiggled it at her enticingly and she smiled brightly. "Oh, I've missed that beautiful piece of weaponry." Buffy squeezed out of the car and walked over to Steve. She took her scythe from him and her muscles relaxed when she felt the power in it. "You left the hardware on."

Sharon handed her the gloves that called her scythe and Steve's shield to her and her suit. "I just stole it from lock up. I wouldn't even know where to begin to take it apart."

"Thank you for this Sharon." Buffy began moving the scythe around in a deadly balletic circle.

"You guys take care." Sharon got in the car and drove off.

Steve turned and looked at Buffy playing with her scythe. "You feel complete again?"

Buffy smiled and set the scythe down to lean against the nearby wall. "Wrong choice of words, Captain."

"How so?"

"I feel complete with you. My scythe is just an extension of myself."

Steve smiled. "Yeah. Those were the right choice of words."

"Thank you."

He glanced at the car and its passengers before turning his attention back to Buffy. "Speaking of the right words, I heard you talking to Bucky earlier. Thank you for being so kind to him. I know he's caused you a lot of pain."

"It wasn't him. The Bucky you know and the one I know through you is in the car right now. He's got a lot more guilt than you're used to, but he seems to be dealing with it ok."

"I also wanted to apologize for all of this mess. I know you were looking forward to the wedding and now…."

Buffy wrapped her arms around his waist suddenly and laid her head against his chest. "We'll figure it out." He dropped the shield containing his and Sam's suits and wrapped his arms around her.

"You deserve the wedding of your dreams."

"Well, what I deserve and what I get are two different things. But come hell or high water, I'll have you and that's all that matters to me. I love you." She looked up at him and he leaned down to kiss her. When they pulled apart, they caught Sam and Bucky both nodding their heads in approval.

"Let's get going." Steve picked his shield up and Buffy grabbed her scythe. They shoved everything in the luggage compartment of the VW and climbed back in the car.

"It's nice that you two can take a moment to get romantic with everything that's going on." Sam said. "I'm sure we could wait if you two wanted to 'work out'."

"Shut up." Buffy said, kicking Sam's seat again.

They drove to the airport and pulled into the parking garage. Clint was waiting there with Wanda in a white van. The level they'd chosen was near the top and nearly abandoned. Perfect for a covert meeting.

"Buffy." Clint said, coming around to meet them. "Cap."

"We wouldn't have called if we'd had a choice." Steve said.

"Hey, you guys are doing me a favor." Clint glanced at Wanda getting out of the van. "Besides, I owe a debt."

"Thanks for having our backs." Buffy said to Wanda as she hugged the girl.

"It was time to get off my ass." Wanda said.

"How about our other recruit?" Steve asked.

"He's rearing to go." Clint went to open the van door. "You might want to put a little coffee in him, but he should be good."

When the door slammed open, Scott Lange jumped awake. He looked confused for a moment as he climbed out of the van. "What time zone is this?"

"Come on." Clint shut the door of the van and pushed Scott forward. "Go on."

Scott realized who was standing in front of him and walked up to shake Steve's hand. "Captain America!"

"Mr. Lange." Steve said.

"It's an honor." Scott didn't stop shaking Steve's hand. "I'm shaking your hand too long. Wow! This is awesome!" He looked at Buffy. "Captain America! Hey! I know you, too. You're great. A lot smaller in person, though." Buffy lifted an eyebrow at him. She heard Bucky let out a snort behind them. "Sorry! That sounds dumb coming from me." Scott looked back at Steve and gripped his biceps. "Ah! Gosh! I just wanna say, I know you know a lot of super peoples, so thinks for thanking of me." Scott spotted Sam. "Hey man!"

"What's up Tic Tac?" Sam said.

"Uh, good to see you. Look, what happened last time was…."

"A great audition, but it'll never happen again."

"I kind of hope it does." Buffy said, looking back at Scott. "That was highly entertaining. Thanks for that, by the way. I got to see the whole thing and it was hilarious."

"Did they tell you what we're up against?" Steve asked Scott.

"Something about some psycho assassins?" Scott said.

"We're outside the law on this one. So if you come with us, you're a wanted man."

"Yeah, well, what else is new?"

"We should get moving." Bucky said.

"I've got our travel lined up." Clint said.

Suddenly alarms sounded all over the airport. A German voice came over the speakers and began calling orders. Steve and Buffy looked at Bucky. "They're evacuating the airport." He said.

"Stark." Sam said.

"Stark?" Scott asked.

Steve looked down at Buffy. She sighed and headed for the car to open the luggage compartment. "Suit up." Steve said to everyone else. He joined Buffy at the car as she handed out suits. "We're going to need to split up. Divide their attention. Buffy, I need you with me. Stark will come for us first. You're the only one here that stands a chance of him listening to our side."

"I'm a little worried we've pushed him too far." Buffy said. "But I can try talking to him again. If only to keep him distracted."

"Do you think Willow will be here?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. I really hope not."

"She might listen to you better than Stark would."

"Maybe. She has her reasons for signing those accords, though. And since I haven't gotten to ask her, I can only guess at why. She might be beyond listening."

"Where was she earlier?" Steve asked. "Why wasn't she at that facility with Tony and Natasha?"

"She wasn't at the compound, either." Wanda said. "She left a few hours before Clint showed up."

"That's because I was tracking Buffy." Willow said, walking up to them.

Buffy was tensed for a fight as she made her way towards her best friend. "Are you why Tony is here?"

"No. I have nothing to do with that. Tony's here because he's trying to bring you all in. I'm here because I don't agree with him locking Wanda up the way he did."

"You're switching sides?"

"I wasn't on a side, Buffy. I signed those accords because I agreed with them to an extent. We have too much power and we've both seen what that does to people. You saw what it did to me."

"Will…."

"It won't kill us to have boundaries in place. But at the same time, you're my best friend and I know you wouldn't go this far for nothing. So what's really going on?"

"Bucky was framed. He wasn't in Vienna. He didn't blow anything up. It was all so this guy could get in a room with Bucky for 10 minutes and find out more about these other Winter Soldiers."

"There's more of them?"

"Yes. And we're trying to stop this guy from activating them."

Willow looked around at the people gathered there. "Ok, so I guess I'm picking a side now. What can I do to help?"

"Stick with Wanda." Steve said. "I've seen what you two can do with your powers and we'll need that."

"Gotcha." Willow nodded and walked over to Wanda.

While they got suited up, Steve went over to talk to Scott. Buffy worked on strapping on all her gear and was trying to get her scythe harness on. Bucky noticed that she needed a little help and walked over to offer it.

"Thanks. I always get stuck on that last buckle." She said.

"Are we sure she isn't here as a double agent?" Bucky asked.

"Willow? I'm sure." Buffy turned around as she locked her scythe in the harness. "She may have a killer resolve face, but her poker face is terrible. She's not lying."

"If you and Steve trust her…."

"We do. And she's someone we really want on our side."

"Flay a guy alive with a flick of her hand?"

"She did it once. It wasn't pretty. But in her defense she wasn't herself. The guy killed the love of her life and almost killed me." Bucky shot her a confused look. "She snapped and lost it. It's a _very_ long story."

"I feel like you have a lot of those."

"She does. And none of them are boring." Steve said, joining them. "Are you guys ready?"

"As we'll ever be." Buffy said.

* * *

Buffy and Steve walked across the tarmac, making it look like they were headed for a helicopter sitting there. Clint, Willow, and Wanda were inside the parking garage while Bucky and Sam had gone inside the terminal. At first there was no sign of anyone, but as they neared the helicopter, one of Tony's electrical stunners hit the helicopter and shut it down. Iron Man and War Machine flew in, but only Tony put his helmet back.

"It's so weird how you meet people at the airport." Tony said. He looked over at Rhodes. "Isn't that weird?"

"That's really weird." Rhodes said.

"Tony, that psychiatrist was a fake." Buffy said. "He's behind all of this. He set Bucky up."

T'Challa showed up in his Black Panther suit. "Captain, Miss Summers."

"Your Highness." Steve said.

"Anyway, Ross gave me thirty six hours to bring you two in. That was twenty four hours ago. Can you help a brother out?" Tony asked.

"Well, since you asked so nicely…." Buffy said sarcastically.

"You're after the wrong guy." Steve said.

"Your judgment is askew." Tony said. "Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday."

"And there are five more super soldiers just like him. We can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. We can't."

"Steve, you two know what's about to happen." Natasha said, showing up behind them. "Do you really want to punch your way out of this one?"

When Steve and Buffy didn't answer, Tony sighed. "All right, I've run out of patience. Underoos!" Suddenly Steve's shield was taken from his arm and both his and Buffy's hands were suddenly bound in tight webbing. A guy dressed in a red and blue onesie that covered his face dropped down on top of a nearby truck holding Steve's shield. "Nice job, kid."

"Thanks!" The voice coming from the onesie was that of a teenager's. "Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better, it's just…. New suit. Wait, it's not…. Mr. Stark, it's perfect."

"Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation."

The teen looked over at Buffy and Steve and saluted. "Ok. Cap…. Captain. Big fan." He gestured at himself. "Spiderman."

"Yeah, we'll talk about it later."

"Oh. Hey everyone."

"Just…. Good job."  
"You've been busy." Buffy said, subtly trying to break the webbing.

"And you two have been complete idiots." Tony snapped at her. "Dragging in Clint, rescuing Wanda from a place she didn't even want to leave. A safe place."

"How do you know she didn't want to leave? Did you ask her? Cause we did and look where she's at."

"I'm trying to keep…." Tony took a breath to calm himself. "I'm trying to keep you two from tearing the Avengers apart."

"You did that when you signed." Steve said.

"All right, we're done. You're going to turn Barnes over and you're going to come with us. Now! Because it's _us_. Which is better than a bunch of SWAT guys with no compunction about being impolite! Come on."

"We found it." Sam said in their ears. "The quinjet's in hanger 5. North runway."

Without looking at each other, Buffy and Steve held their arms up over their heads. Clint shot two arrows that split the webbing on their hands and gave them free range of motion again. "All right, Lange." Steve said.

"Guys, something…." The spider kid was suddenly kicked backwards as Scott sized up to his normal size holding Steve's shield.

"What the hell was that?" Rhodes asked.

Scott walked over to Steve and handed him the shield. "I believe this is yours, Captain America."

"Oh great." Tony groaned from inside his suit. "All right, there's three in the parking deck. One of them is Maximoff. I'm gonna go grab her." He flew off and Rhodes hovered in the air.

"Barnes is mine!" T'Challa yelled, running off for where Rhodes had spotted Bucky.

Steve threw his shield up and bounced it off of Rhodes' suit as Buffy turned to go after T'Challa. She suddenly split off and moved away from everyone. The goal was to get to the quinjet, so she was going to get over there and figure out a way to get everyone else over there. She could hear different people ask where she was, but she stayed low and stayed behind things out of sight. She made it to the end of her hiding places and stopped at the edge of the tarmac. It was a wide open space in front of her now. She could hear explosions and yelling behind her as the others fought. There was no way she was going to make it across that expanse without someone noticing her.

"Miss Summers." Vision said, floating down in front of her.

"Vision." Buffy stood up straight and looked at him. She really needed Willow or Wanda to get past him.

"I really must ask that you abstain from this fight."

"Sorry. I can't. I've got this guy that I've got to stop from activating a bunch of evil super soldiers and a friend to protect. It's a whole big thing." She started to walk past him, stealing herself for the fight, and was left confused as to why he didn't even try to stop her.

"I understand that you believe what you're doing is right, but you need to think about your child."

Buffy stopped and turned back to him. "I'm sorry, think about my what?"

"I am detecting a second heartbeat from you. Your temperature is raised and I am told that you've been ill. These are all symptoms that add up to only one conclusion."

"Are you telling me…."

"You're pregnant with Captain Rogers' child. I really must insist that you stand down, if only for this reason alone. You won't be harmed and I will see to it that you are treated with complete respect. You will be protected."

"Did I really just hear what I think I did?" Natasha asked, coming around behind the Slayer. Buffy leaned heavily against the truck she was standing by and put her hands against her abdomen. The outside world fell away and she was lost in a sudden darkness surrounding her. Breathing was starting to become an issue since she couldn't remember exactly how to do it suddenly. Was she having a panic attack? "Buff…." Natasha wrapped her arms around her friend, trying to bring her back to herself and hold her up in case she passed out. "Vision, go help the others. Don't tell anyone else about this."

"Miss Romanoff…." Vision started.

"It's none of their business until she makes it their business. I'll make sure she's ok." Vision moved reluctantly off, taking flight after a few steps. Natasha turned back to Buffy. "Hey, breathe. That's kind of important."

"I can't…." Buffy shook her head, struggling to breathe around the tightness in her throat. "We're so careful."

"Well, he is a super soldier. I can't imagine a thin piece of latex…."

"We're not ready."

"I know." Natasha looked around and sighed. "Ok, Summers, focus up here. I know this is a lot to process right now, but I really need you to put it aside and be the Slayer. We're getting you to the jet."

"What?"

"You're my friend, Buff. One might even say my best friend if they knew some of the things we've shared with each other. I can't stand this fighting between everyone. And I really can't stand the thought of you pregnant in a prison somewhere and separated from Steve. So, ignore everything else and get to the jet. I'll make sure at least Steve and Barnes get there, too. Then I'll figure out a way to make sure you guys don't end up in prison."

"Nat…."

"You and Steve, you're not going to stop until this is resolved. I know you both pretty well. If there are evil super soldiers out there that need to be stopped, you, Barnes, and Rogers stand the best chance of doing that. I'll do what I can to help them get to the jet with you."

"I'm really sorry about all of this."

"I know. Go into the terminal through there and stay low. It lets out just over there near the hanger. There's an open space between the terminal and the hanger, but it's nothing you can't get across fast undetected." Buffy nodded and started to move away. "And Buffy? Be careful. I don't want to mourn you, Rogers, and a niece or nephew I never got to meet." Natasha turned and disappeared.

Buffy moved over towards the terminal and entered through the door she'd pointed out. Once inside, she took a moment to herself to allow every emotion she was feeling to wash over her. The most overwhelming one was fear. She fought her way back out of the panic attack, wiped away the tears, and got moving through the terminal. The exit near the hanger wasn't far and she peeked through the window to see if anyone was around.

The sounds of fighting had picked up and were a lot closer than they had been. She opened the door and stuck her head out. Everyone was engaged in battle against each other. Steve was taking on the little spider guy and she briefly thought about helping him out, but she needed to get to the quinjet.

"Buff, where are you? Where did you go?" Steve's voice sounded in her ear.

"I had a little set back and then some help, but basically…." She ran across the expanse and burst through the door to the hanger. "I'm in the hanger."

"Good work."

"You're going to need to get here, flyboy, cause I have no idea how to work this thing."

"We're working on it."

"That guy's probably in Siberia by now." Bucky said.

"We gotta draw out the fliers. I'll take Vision, you get to Buffy and the jet."

"No. _You_ get to Buffy and the jet." Sam said. "Both of you. The rest of us aren't getting out of here."

"As much as I hate to admit it," Clint said. "If we're going to win this one, some of us are going to have to lose it."

"This isn't the real fight, Steve."

"All right, Sam, what's the plan?" Steve asked.

"We need a diversion. Something big."

"I got something kind of big." Scott said. "I can't hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half, don't come back for me."

"He's going to tear himself in half?" Bucky asked.

"Are you sure about this Scott?" Steve asked.

"I do it all the time." Scott answered. "I mean, once. In a lab. And I passed out."

Suddenly, Scott became a giant and he grabbed Rhodes out of the air. Buffy could see from the jet's windows that everything sort of stopped as the combatants stared. She saw Bucky and Steve staring, too. "I think that's the signal, guys!" Buffy called.

Bucky and Steve took off running while Clint, Wanda, Willow, and Sam helped the giant Scott distract the others. Scott was creating a massive amount of chaos. It was truly impressive. Natasha appeared in the hanger and waved Buffy onto the jet. They both ran on and Natasha started it up. Just then, the control tower came crashing down in front of the hanger. Vision had used his mind stone to burn through the floors and topple it like a big tree. Steve and Bucky just barely made it underneath with Wanda's help.

"T'Challa." Buffy said, seeing the Black Panther appear behind them.

Natasha was already out the door. "Hey Steve."

"Nat." Steve said. "Where's Buffy?"

"Safe on the jet. Get going. Don't make me regret this." She shot her electric stingers at T'Challa, keeping him down until Steve and Bucky were on board. Steve sat at the pilot's seat and Bucky buckled in next to Buffy. They took off and Steve kept it at a steep upward angle to get away from Rhodes and Tony giving chase. Sam informed them that Vision had shot at him and when Sam had maneuvered out of the way, the bolt of energy had taken out Rhodes.


	4. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

They were well on their way to Siberia with all tracking devices turned off. Buffy had retreated to the back of the jet and was curled up on the floor in the darkness. Bucky was still at the front with Steve. They hadn't said much since taking off. It was Bucky that finally broke the silence.

"What's going to happen to your friends?" He asked.

"Whatever it is," Steve said. "We'll deal with it."

"I don't know if I'm worth all this."

Steve glanced back at his best friend. "What you did all of those years…. It wasn't you. You had no choice."

"I know. But I did it." Bucky stood up from the seat and made his way back to Buffy. He sat down next to her. "You're awfully quiet back here."

"Just…. Thinking." Buffy said, not looking at him.

"Yeah. We can hear the wheels turning all the way up there." Buffy looked over at him and his expression melted into one of concern when he saw the tears streaming down her face. She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, and buried her face in her arms. "Buffy, I'm really sorry about your friends."

"It's not that." She said quietly. "We'll fix that one way or another."

"Oh." Even before he became the Winter Soldier, Bucky hadn't been amazing with women's emotions. It's why he had always had a string of girls instead of just one steady one. "So, if it's not your friends, what's making you cry?"

"I'm pregnant." Her voice was barely a whisper as she said it.

If Bucky hadn't been sitting right beside her, he wouldn't have heard it at all. The first thing he wanted to say was that it was good news, something to be excited about, but reality stopped him. She and Steve were both fugitives now. They would be running and have to continue running or else they would end up in prison. If they ended up in prison, the baby would most certainly be taken away from them and probably be experimented on since it was the child of the original super solider and a Slayer.

"I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around her and she cried into his shoulder.

"I don't know what to do."

Bucky glanced up at Steve, but his eyes were focused on the horizon. "He deserves to know. But you can't tell him yet. He'll be too focused on protecting you from the others if he knows. It could get him hurt or worse. If you can, stick with me. I won't let anything happen to you."

"You won't be too focused on that?"

"Buffy, it doesn't matter if I make it out of this or not. I don't have anyone out there hoping I come home from this. But it does matter that both of you make it out of there and that you find somewhere safe."

"You two are awfully cozy back there." Steve said as the lights in the back of the jet came on. Buffy and Bucky looked up to see him watching them. "Should I be worried?"

"I wouldn't take your girl, Steve. Especially when I remember how hard it was for you to get one." Bucky said playfully as Buffy wiped at the tears on her cheeks. She was grateful for Bucky's distraction. "She's just had a hard day and you're busy flying the jet. Thought I'd make sure she was ok."

"How are you feeling, Buff?" Steve asked.

"I've been better." Buffy said. "I'm worried about our friends, I'm worried about my Slayers, I'm worried about what we're going to do once we get there…. I'm just being a worrywart."

"It's ok. I'm worried about them, too. But they're nothing if not survivors. We'll get them out of trouble." He looked at her harder, his face a mask of concern. "Are you sure you're up for this? If you're feeling sick…."

"I'm up for it. I've got this." She stood up and walked to the front of the jet. "I once fought a disgusting demon that only children could see with a fever that felt like it was melting my brain."

"Der Kindestod?" Bucky asked.

Buffy looked over at him in surprise. "You know about demons?"

"HYDRA had me read up on a lot of things. Demons were sometimes in the way of their plans, so I would be sent out to take them out. I had to learn how to kill them since not all demons can be killed the same way. Have you ever gone up against a Falanjoid?"

"Oh, they're so disgusting!"

"Why don't any of the books say that they explode when you kill them?"

"Well, they don't so much explode as have six hearts that pump their blood really, really fast through them, so whenever you even so much as poke one there's just vomit-looking blood everywhere." She took a deep breath and sat down. "Oh, there's that nausea again."

"Sorry." Bucky looked around for something for her to throw up in.

"I'm ok. Thank you." She looked between Bucky and Steve. "I've heard so much about you two together. Not just from Steve, but from Peggy. I get the feeling that I'm going to have my hands full with you two back together again."

"You knew Peggy?" Bucky sat down in his chair.

"Steve took me to meet her a few times and I went to visit on my own when she was having good days. She would tell me all sorts of stories about Steve and you and the Howling Commandos. You were one tough group of guys."

"She's still alive?"  
"No." Steve said.

"She passed away earlier this week." Buffy said. "God, it feels like ages ago now that we went to her funeral."

"I'm sorry, Steve." Bucky gripped his friend's shoulder. "She was a good woman."

"Yeah. She was." Steve said.

Bucky wanted to change the subject away from the sadness of a friend lost and ran a finger over Buffy's scar on her neck. "When did you get bit?"

"1999."

"How did it happen?"

Buffy looked over at Bucky. "Uh, the other Slayer at the time…. Faith…. She poisoned my boyfriend with the Killer of the Dead poison. The only cure is a Slayer's blood. I tried to kill her, but she managed to escape. The only option was me and I loved him too much to let him die."

"Your ex is a vampire?"

"Yeah."

"His name is Angel and he's a good man." Steve said.

"You've met him?"

"He works at the Avengers and Slayers HQ." Steve looked at Buffy. "Wonder what side he's on?"

"I don't know. The last time I saw him, we were keeping Lily held off Nat." Buffy said. "I haven't exactly had a chance to speak to him since."

"Are there any Slayers stationed near Siberia?"

"Uh…. Moscow, but there's only two. Hell spawn aren't really known for loving the freezing climate. Do you want me to call them in?"

"No. It'll take them too long to get there." Steve glanced back at her sheepishly. "Do we need to worry about demon polar bears when _we_ get there?"

"Demon polar bears?" Bucky asked.

"Oh, I tossed that phrase out a couple of days ago and now he and Sam think there might actually be demon polar bears in Siberia." Buffy said.

"Not that I saw."

"Good to know." Steve said. "I don't think I want to fight more people like us and demon polar bears."

Bucky looked between his best friend and Buffy. "You two are good together."

"Thank you."

"I mean it. Steve, I used to worry about you finding someone who was worthy of you. I know that I pushed girls on you, but I always hoped you'd find the right one. It took you long enough."

"Over seventy years. She was worth the wait."

"How did you two meet?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D." Buffy said. "They finally managed to catch me and offered me a job. It wasn't until I met him that I accepted it."

"So you were partners."

"She was the first person who didn't want something from me." Steve said. "She knew what it was like to be all alone and we just connected over that. The romantic feelings didn't show up until about a year after we met."

"Then it took us a year after that to finally admit that we had feelings for each other." Buffy said.

"We had just gone on our first date when you came back into our lives."

"When I shot your boss." Bucky said.

"He got over it." Buffy said.

"I shot you on your first date! I really am sorry."

Buffy shrugged. "It sucked, but it wasn't my first time being shot. And hey! I'm still alive with a great story to tell. Honestly, Bucky, you don't need to apologize because it wasn't you. We understand that."

"Her better than most." Steve said.

"Why her better than most?" Bucky asked.

"My ex…. Angel…. When he doesn't have his soul he's the Scourge of Europe." Buffy said.

Bucky's eyebrows went up to his hairline. "Angelus? You dated Angelus?"

"Angel. Angelus spent months trying to mentally torture me and kill my friends when he was accidentally brought out once. I know the difference between the two. So, it's not hard for me to distinguish between the Winter Soldier and Bucky."

"What makes him not have his soul? Is there a trigger of some kind?"

"Uh…. Sort of. Perfect happiness. The curse that gave him his soul had a loophole. If he ever felt perfect happiness, then he would lose his soul again. He's meant to suffer for everything Angelus did."

"What's his perfect happiness?" Steve looked over at Buffy meaningfully and Buffy blushed. "Oh."

"It was my seventeenth birthday and we had a brush with losing each other…. It was all very dramatic. And then I woke up alone and in a bizarre world where the man I loved was trying to turn me into a raving lunatic vampire."

"A Slayer turned vampire. That's a terrifying notion."

"I've had nightmares about it."

"I definitely think I would rather face five other Winter Soldiers than one Slayer turned vampire."

"You and me both."

Steve chuckled and Bucky and Buffy looked at him expectantly. "Sorry, it's just…. Despite the situation we find ourselves in, this is exactly how I imagined you two getting along."

Buffy smiled. "Were you worried we wouldn't?"

"A little."

Bucky looked over at Buffy. "I think I like her more than you, Steve."

Steve chuckled. "Yeah? I definitely like her more than you."

"I'm going to go see what weapons are loaded on here. Try not to crash land us in the ice. I don't feel like being frozen for seventy years." Buffy said, standing up and kissing Steve's cheek before walking towards the storage cabinets.

"How long till we land?" Bucky asked.

"About an hour, if that." Steve said. He glanced back at Buffy and lowered his voice so only Bucky could hear. "Is she really ok?"

"She's having a rough day and she's worried about your friends. I think all of that on top of being sick has taken its emotional toll."

Steve glanced back at her. "Would you mind the controls for a few?"

"Yeah." Bucky allowed Steve to stand up and headed back towards his fiancée before taking the wheel.

Steve walked up behind Buffy and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I love you."

She smiled and leaned back into him. "I love you, too."

"Everything will work out eventually."

"I hope so. There's a lot that could go wrong. Especially if Nat can't figure out how to fix everything."

"How do you know she's going to try to fix everything?"

"Because she told me when she helped me get to the jet."

Steve smiled slightly. "I hope I get the chance to thank her for that."

"I do too." He started to let go, but she grabbed his arms. "A little bit longer?"

"Of course." She turned in his arms and he held her against him. He actually felt his ribs crushing under her strength. "Buff…."

"Sorry." She released her hold on him. "I just…. I needed that from you."

"I can do you one better." He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her closer against him. They finished the kiss, but kept their foreheads and bodies pressed together. "As long as we're together, everything will be ok, right?"

"It definitely seems that way." She reached up and took his face gently in her hands, searching his eyes. "I love you so much, Steve."

He gave her the lopsided grin that she loved so much. "I love you, too, Buffy." Steve kissed her quickly. "I've got to land this jet."

She reluctantly let him go and noticed Bucky covertly watching them with a slight grin on his face. Buffy turned back to checking the weapons. Soon, they were landing in the middle of a frozen wasteland. Bucky came over to pick out what weapons he wanted while Buffy finished loading her tranq and stun darts. She added some extra throwing knives to her belt just in case.

As they waited for the door to open, Steve looked over at Bucky. "You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that delivery truck?"

"Was that the time you used our train money to buy hot dogs?" Bucky asked.

"You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a red head."

"What was her name again?"

"Dolores. You called her Dot."

"She's gotta be over a hundred years old by now."

"I got news for you both." Buffy said as she made her way out into the snow. "So are you."

"I'm just curious, Buffy…. Have you dated anyone that doesn't remember the War?" Bucky asked her as she and Steve followed her out.

"Just one."

"What happened to him?"

"That is a long story. But he works for S.H.I.E.L.D. now. He's sort of the reason I'm here."

"You left him for this guy?" Bucky gestured at Steve.

"No. God no! He left me a long time ago. He's been married with kids for years now."

"Are you on good terms with all of your exes?"

"Uh…. Sort of? I don't exactly have a ton of them." They walked towards the hidden base's door and discovered it open.

"He can't have been here for more than a few hours." Steve said.

"Long enough to wake them up." Bucky retorted as they headed for the doorway. He grabbed Buffy's arm and she looked up at him. "Remember what I said. Stay close to me." He said quietly. Buffy nodded and they followed Steve in. "The entire base is underground."

Bucky led them to an elevator. It was small and the three of them barely fit. Buffy was in the middle of them and she almost felt like making a quip about being the meat in a super soldier sandwich. When the elevator stopped and Steve opened the doors, they made their way out. Bucky made sure Buffy was between him and Steve at all times. They moved stealthily towards a flight of stairs and as they mounted them, a loud noise could be heard from the elevator shaft. Bucky pushed Buffy's shoulder down so she was shielded behind Steve and his shield.

"Ready?" Steve asked.

"Yeah." Buffy and Bucky said.

The elevator doors were pushed open and Iron Man was standing there. He took a few steps forwards and dropped his helmet. Steve moved forward reluctantly and kept his guard up. Buffy moved out from behind her fiancé and both him and Bucky protested.

"He's not going to hurt me." Buffy assured them.

"They do seem a little defensive." Tony said.  
"It's been a long day."

Tony looked at Bucky still holding his gun trained on him and Steve with his shield at the ready. "At ease, soldiers. I'm not currently after you."

"Tony, what are you doing here?"

He shrugged and walked up to her. "Maybe your story's not so crazy." She didn't respond. "Ross doesn't know I'm here and I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise I've gotta arrest myself."

Buffy cracked a smile. "Well, I do know how much you hate paperwork."

"About as much as you do." He held out his arms and Buffy obliged him, hugging him tightly.

"I hate hugging you through this damn suit."

"Missed you, too, Summers." Tony looked over at Steve. "Captain."

"It's good to see you, Tony." Steve said.

"You too, Cap." Tony looked over at Bucky still holding his gun up. "Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop it." Buffy and Steve both looked over at Bucky and he eased his gun down.

"We just got here." Buffy said.

"Do you know who you're tracking?"

"The doctor."

"His name is Helmut Zemo. He's not a doctor."

"Who is he?" Steve asked.

"He was in Sokovian Intelligence on some elite kill squad."

"So this is his revenge?" Buffy asked. "Release a bunch of insane super soldiers onto the world? Pretty sure he needs to work on that whole seeking revenge thing…."

"How did you know where we were?" Steve asked.

"I talked to Wilson." Tony said.

"Is he ok?" Buffy asked. "Wanda and Willow? Clint? Scott?"

"They're in prison, kid. Ross put them in the Raft."

"I don't know what that is."

"It's a prison built for super humans that's in the middle of the Pacific Ocean."

"Is that where you were planning to put us?" Buffy's hand unconsciously went to her abdomen and she felt like she was going to be sick again.

"I don't want to put you anywhere. I want you safe and sound back at HQ working with the Avengers and your Slayers."

Buffy sighed. "We don't have time to argue about the Accords right now. We've got psycho super soldiers to stop." She turned on her heel and got behind Bucky. Steve fell into place behind her and Tony brought up the rear. Eventually they let Tony take the lead and use his suit to scan for life.

"I got heat signatures." Tony announced.

"How many?" Steve asked.

"Uh…. One."

They walked into a large room with six containment cells and what looked like a dentist chair from a horror movie in the middle. One of the containment cells was open, but the other five were locked tight. The lights suddenly flickered on in the cells to reveal that the five people contained in the cells had bullet holes in their heads.  
"If it's any comfort," A voice said over loudspeakers. "They died in their sleep. Did you really think I wanted more of you?"

"What the hell?" Bucky said next to Buffy.

"I am grateful to them, though. They brought you here." A light came on in a small, square window to reveal Zemo's face. Tony raised his hand to shoot, but Steve threw his shield first. It just bounced off the window. "Please, Captain. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand a launch blast of UR100 rockets."

"I'm betting I could beat that!" Tony said as he and Steve went on one side of the chamber and Bucky and Buffy went around the other side.

"Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark. Given time. But then you'd never know why you came."

"You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?" Steve asked, moving up to the window.

"I thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you. I followed you. But now that you're standing here, I just realized there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw."

"Cause that's not creepy at all." Buffy said.

"You're Sokovian." Steve said, not hearing Buffy's quip to Bucky. "Is that what this is about?"

"Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell." Zemo said. "No. I'm here because I made a promise."

"You lost someone."

"I lost everyone. And so will you." A TV turned on next to the window and Steve looked over at it. Buffy joined him at the monitor while Bucky kept his gun at the ready. "An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within, that's dead. Forever."

Tony came over to stand with Buffy and Steve to look at the screen. He did a double take at the security footage being played. "I know that road. What is this?"

A moment later, a car plowed into a tree in front of the camera. Then a motorcyclist pulled up and they realized it was Bucky. Buffy looked up at Steve and they realized what they were watching. It was the death of Tony's parents. They had known that Bucky had killed them. Zola had told them just before HYDRA had tried to blow them up at Camp Lehigh.

"Sargent Barnes?" Howard asked on the screen.

"Howard!" Maria cried.

Tony looked over at Bucky and Bucky looked away. On the screen, Bucky punched Howard in the face until he died from the trauma. After he placed Howard in the driver's seat, Bucky walked around and choked the life out of Maria as she cried her husband's name. Buffy moved quietly over to stand in front of Bucky. He reached out to move her behind him, but she waved him away.

Tony turned to attack Bucky, but Buffy put her hands on his chest to stop him. "Tony…."

"Did you know?" He asked her.

"We didn't know it was him." Steve lied.

"Don't bullshit me, Rogers." Tony's eyes didn't leave Buffy's. She felt the weight of his stare. She was the one person he trusted most. He had even told her how much she meant to him. And she had kept this from him. "Did you know?"

"Yes." Buffy said.

Tony moved away from Buffy as if her touch burned him through his suit. Steve took a step forward and Tony suddenly lashed out, knocking Steve a few feet away. He turned and shot at Bucky and Buffy. Bucky pushed Buffy out of the way as he took on Tony. Zemo disappeared from the window as Buffy yelled at Tony to stop. Steve attacked Tony and ended up across the room with high-tech manacles around his ankles. Buffy tried to grab Tony before he took off with Bucky, but she missed. He turned and smashed her across the face. She felt the trickle of blood down her cheek where the skin had split over her cheekbone. Tony went after Bucky again as Buffy pulled her scythe from her back, and broke the manacles on Steve's leg with her blade.

A rocket from Tony's suit hit one of the containment cells and it exploded, beginning to collapse down around them. Buffy and Steve scrambled away as the domino effect happened to the other five cells. Bucky managed to pull Buffy away before a large metal object fell on her. Steve popped up from behind it and waved at them.

"Get him out of here!" Steve yelled at Buffy.

"Go!" Buffy pushed Bucky ahead of her. Tony suddenly grabbed her and she swung her scythe around to hit him in the chest with the blunt side. He fell back and Buffy moved to run after Bucky. Tony shot a laser at the ceiling and the concrete crashed down in front of her. Buffy just turned and looked at Tony, putting her scythe back on her back.

"Move." Tony growled.

"No." Buffy stood up straight, dropping her defensive pose. "It wasn't him. He was being controlled."

"Don't make me hurt you, Summers."

"So then don't, Tony. Just listen to me."

"He killed my mom!"

"It wasn't him! He was being controlled."

"Convenient excuse."

"It's not an excuse. It's a fact. The man you're trying to kill is not the one that killed your parents. HYDRA killed them. The Winter Solider was the weapon used to kill them. You can't blame the weapon for the killing."

"You and I…. We were family! How could you choose him over me?"

"I'm not choosing him over you, Tony. I'm choosing to try and keep our family together. That includes Bucky now."

"He will never be my family. Move!"

"No!"

Tony backhanded her and she flew across the rubble, landing hard on her side. He went off after Bucky and Steve came over to help her up. They ran after Tony and Bucky and realized that they were moving up a large shaft towards an opening. Steve moved into position and Buffy stepped on the shield so he could launch her upwards. Bucky caught her out of the air and turned quickly, using the momentum to shoot her legs out and kick Tony back before he could get to Bucky. Tony shot at them, but Steve was suddenly there. The energy bolt bounced off the shield and hit Tony, knocking him down a couple of flights.

"He's not going to stop. Go." Steve said to Bucky. He pulled out a rappelling wire and shot it at Tony. It wrapped around his neck and Steve jumped, pulling Tony down with him.

Buffy followed Bucky up, urging him on. Below them, Tony aimed a rocket at the open door. "Faster!" Buffy yelled at Bucky. Just before he made it out, the rocket hit the hinges and the huge door began to collapse. Buffy jumped and managed to pull Bucky away in time. They both landed on one of the landings and Buffy got to her feet, ready to stop Tony.

"You've got to stop." Bucky said to her, pulling her away from the edge of the landing. Suddenly Tony was there and Buffy swung her scythe off her back and hit him in the chest with the blunt side again. He flew back and landed hard on another landing. Bucky turned her to him. "You really have to stop, Buffy. You need to get Steve and get out of here."

"Not until you're safe." Buffy insisted.

"Even at the risk of…." He didn't get to finish because Tony grabbed him from behind in a chokehold.

"Do you even remember them?" Tony growled.

"I remember all of them." Bucky said.

"Tony, stop!" Buffy yelled at him.

"Buffy, go!" Bucky said.

Tony pulled Bucky backwards off the landing and Steve tackled them, dragging them down the shaft. Bucky landed painfully on a landing while Steve and Tony kept falling. She saw Steve land and roll away out of sight as Tony got to his feet. Buffy quickly climbed down to Bucky to help him up.

"This isn't going to change what happened." Steve said to Tony.

"I don't care." Tony retorted. "He killed my mom." He attacked Steve.

"They're going to kill each other." Buffy said. She activated her gloves and called Steve's shield to her. It had been lying on the ground near them. Before she could jump down, Bucky stopped her.

"Let me." Bucky said, holding his hand out for the shield. "You need to stay out of it."

"Bucky…."

"Please, don't. Please. Buffy, I am not worth the life of yours and Steve's kid. Do you understand me? That is not a sacrifice I'm willing to make." Buffy reluctantly handed him the shield and he jumped down and attacked Tony.

Steve and Bucky tag teamed against Tony, bringing him to his knees. Bucky finally got Tony pressed against a wall and began trying to dig the arc reactor from the chest of his suit with his metal arm. Tony managed to shoot out a blast of energy and Bucky fell back. His metal arm had been blasted off. Tony blasted Bucky again and Buffy couldn't take just standing there watching her family rip each other to shreds. Steve attacked Tony and they faced off as Buffy made her way down to them. She screamed at them to stop, but they didn't listen. She called Steve's shield to her just as Tony blasted Steve in the stomach and Steve went down.

"He's my friend." Steve said.

"So was I." Tony punched Steve twice and tossed him aside. "Stay down. Final warning."

Steve got painfully to his feet, fists up. "I can do this all day."

Before Tony could blast Steve, Buffy appeared with the shield. "Tony stop."

"You've made your allegiance pretty clear, Summers. I won't hesitate to take you down, too." Tony said, not lowering his arm.

She heard the phaser powering up. "I'm pregnant!" She blurted out, stopping Tony and Steve both.

Tony recovered first, his voice holding a venomous anger. "Are you kidding me?! That's the weakest…."

Buffy dropped the shield and stood up straight. "Use your scanners. They'll tell you I'm not lying." Tony didn't lower his arm, but he did use his scanners on her.

"Buffy…." Steve said.

She glanced back at her fiancé, but kept her attention on Tony. "Get Bucky out of here."

Steve moved over to Bucky and helped him to stand while Tony was distracted. He picked up the shield, but Tony's voice stopped him. "You don't deserve it. My father made that shield!" Steve dropped the shield and kept walking. Buffy moved in front of Tony, diverting his attention back to her.

"You're about…." Tony said, his voice small behind the suit's helmet. The helmet fell away to reveal his broken and bloody face and he dropped his arm. "You're almost ten weeks according to my scans."

"Probably. I did the math."

"This doesn't make anything ok."

"I know that, but you've got to stop. This is what that Zemo guy wanted. He wanted to tear us apart and that's exactly what he's getting right now." He collapsed to his knees in exhaustion and Buffy walked up to him. "Go home, Tony. Deal with everything. Take care of the Avengers…. What's left of them. My Slayers at the compound that sided with you and signed the Accords…. They need a leader. I think you can do that." She laid her hand on Tony's head before walking away. He tried to think of something to say to her, but nothing came to him.

Steve had gotten Bucky on the quinjet and was standing with T'Challa and Zemo. Zemo was tied up and gagged. "Buffy," Steve pulled her to him when she got to him. "Is it true? You're…."

Buffy nodded and held back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. She looked at T'Challa to distract her. "Why are you here?"

"I came to kill your friend, Sargent Barnes, but I learned the truth today." T'Challa gestured at Zemo. "This man will be handed to the authorities and he will be held accountable for his actions. I give you my word."

"And us?"

"I have told Captain Rogers as I will tell you: I offer you a safe place in my kingdom. You have sought and obtained justice for not only your friend but for those who were killed in Vienna. Including my father. The world may see you as vigilantes, but I know you to be true heroes."

"What about Bucky?"

"Sargent Barnes' injuries will be attended to in Wakanda. He was innocent in the attack that killed my father. I hold no ill will against him."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Buffy shook T'Challa's hand before following Steve onto the jet.


	5. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Buffy walked into the large bedroom that T'Challa had given her and Steve to live in three weeks ago. The king of Wakanda had given them rooms at the palace that acted as their new apartment. Bucky had a bedroom there, but he spent a lot of time in the medical center getting his metal arm looked at. They'd settled into somewhat of a routine there, but it wasn't home.

Steve was sitting on the bed looking at the small sonogram picture of his child growing inside Buffy. "You're going to wear that picture out." Buffy said.

Steve looked up at her. "Probably. How are you feeling?"

"I'm ok. Nervous mostly…. Bordering on terrified still, but ok."

"Where have you been?"

"Speaking with T'Challa. He was telling me that he knows where the Raft is."

"You planning on visiting?"

"No." She sat down next to him. "You are. You're going to take the quinjet and get our friends out of there."

"I am?"

"Oh, please. I don't think for a moment that you or Bucky would let me go. T'Challa even said that I was forbidden to leave the island."

Steve smiled. "I see."

"I don't like to take orders. You know that. But this time…." Buffy placed her hands on her lower abdomen. "I have a very good reason to stay put."

"I know that this isn't how you wanted to start a family. Hell, I didn't want to start a family as fugitives in a foreign country, either. But I do want to put it out there that I'm happy about this. We can make it work." He put his hand over hers. "As long as we're together, everything will be ok."

Buffy smiled at him. "It definitely seems that way."

"I have a surprise for you."

"Yeah?"

"You're not the only one that's been talking with T'Challa." Steve stood up and walked over to the large closet. He pulled out a dress bag and held it up. "Open it."

Buffy stood up and walked over to him. She reached up and unzipped the bag to reveal an ivory lace dress. It was tea length with an A-line skirt and a boatneck. The sleeves were three quarter length and made of a lace that matched the rest of the dress. Around the waist was a simple dark blue ribbon. "This is…."

"The one that you picked out? Yeah. Natasha sent it over."

"How did she know where we are?"

"How does she know anything?" He handed her a letter. "She also sent this." The envelope simply said _To My BFF_. It made Buffy laugh. "T'Challa said that as the king of Wakanda, he can marry us." Steve gently laid the dress bag on the bed and turned back to Buffy. "I know it's not what you wanted, but…."

"What I want is kind of irrelevant now, right?" Buffy shrugged. "But look at where we're at. I couldn't ask for a more gorgeous location. I do have one request, though."

"What's that?"

"Save our friends, first. I may have to get married with a lot less of them there, but I still want the ones I can have to be there."

Steve nodded. "I'll talk with T'Challa about going. In the meantime, I finished my letter to Tony. I'll send it off tomorrow."

"Ok."

"Will you read it? Tell me if you think it's ok?"

"Of course."

* * *

Buffy sat in the living room of their Wakandan palace apartment with Steve's letter to Tony and Natasha's letter to her in her hands. Steve was off with T'Challa planning the rescue mission to the Raft. She curled her legs underneath her and began reading Natasha's letter.

 _Buffy,_

 _It's good to be friends with a king. Even though T'Challa told the UN that I helped you, Rogers, and Barnes to escape custody, he somehow managed to fix it. I've been reinstated into the Avengers, but it's not the same without you and Rogers here._

 _Despite his lingering anger with you, Tony misses you. He's tried to write you a letter multiple times, but he never can figure out what to say. I caught him looking through the wedding plans this morning while he stood on the lawn where the ceremony was supposed to take place. He even bought your dress. I think it was a peace offering he was hoping to hand over. Hopefully it's an olive branch you'll accept because I hope that you and Rogers will be able to find the time for you to wear it. Sooner rather than later. You need to make an honest man out of Rogers ASAP._

 _As for me, I'm keeping my promise. I'm looking for a way to reinstate the Slayer and Captain America back where they belong in the family that loves them. Tony and I both are. It's proving difficult, but that's my specialty. I know that the Accords don't agree with you or with Rogers, but I'm sure that eventually we can negotiate them into a better stance that we can all agree on to make the Avengers whole again._

 _Tony isn't the only one that misses you._

 _-Natasha_

Buffy laughed and set the letter down. Once a spy, always a spy. Natasha was probably being monitored as a condition of her reinstatement. She had been careful not to mention Buffy's pregnancy in the letter. If anyone had read it, they would just assume that Natasha had been hoping to convince Buffy to communicate back and was using the wedding dress as a ploy. Buffy was sure that Secretary Ross wouldn't hesitate to invade Wakanda to get her and Steve. He would have a right to do it, as well, since Wakanda had signed the Accords. Buffy and Steve would be at the mercy of an extradition and she was pretty sure not even a King could protect them then.

Natasha was right, though. It was good to be friends with a king. T'Challa had to have been the one to get Steve the letter and the dress. He was probably how Natasha knew where they were. Buffy set the letter down and picked up Steve's letter to Tony.

 _Tony,_

 _Buffy and I are glad you're back at the compound. She really doesn't like the idea of you rattling around a mansion by yourself. Neither do I, for that matter. We all need family. The Avengers are yours. More so than mine now that Buffy and I have got a little one on the way._

 _I will admit that I'm scared of being a father. I've been on my own since I was eighteen. I never really fit in anywhere. Even in the army. I know that Buffy and I will be ok together, but it doesn't ease my fears._

 _My faith's in people, I guess. Individuals. And I'm happy to say that, for the most part, they haven't let me down. Which is why I can't let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but maybe they shouldn't._

 _I know we hurt you, Tony. I guess we thought by not telling you about your parents, we were sparing you. But I can see now we were really sparing ourselves. We're sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand._

 _I wish we agreed on the Accords. I really do. I know you're doing what you believe in, and that's all any of us can do. That's all any of us should do. So no matter what, I promise you if you need us, Buffy and I will be there._

 _-Steve_

 _PS There's more sonogram pictures where this one came from, uncle Tony._

Obviously Steve wasn't worried about Tony's letters being watched. She might have to talk to him about it, though.

Bucky had walked into the apartment and sat down across from her. He was patiently waiting until she was finished reading before he asked, "Where's Steve?"

"Planning the rescue mission." Buffy said, folding the letter back up and placing it in the envelope. "How's your arm coming?"

"They're working on it. Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course."

"I've been doing a lot of thinking and it might be best if I was to go back under."

"Back under where?"

"Go back under in a deep freeze. They have the technology here to do it."

"Oh."

"I'm dangerous, Buffy. Everything that HYDRA put in me is still there. All it takes is for someone to say the right words and I'm that monster again." He shook his head. "I can't put you or Steve…. And especially not this one," He gestured at the framed sonogram picture Steve had placed on the coffee table. "In that kind of danger."

"No one knows you're here, Buck. And even if they did, there's a lot of security to go through just to get to you."

"I can't just wait around an island. I'm going to want to go out and help Steve fight. But I can't do that without risking innocent lives. The best thing for everyone is for me to go back under until they figure out a way to take this stuff out of my head."

"Steve is getting Willow out of that prison in two days. If anyone can help you, it's her. I once went comatose when I thought I'd lost my little sister. I got lost in my own head and Willow went in and found me. She brought me back out. I'm sure she can do something for you. Just…. Give it some time. Please?"

Bucky sighed. "Ok. We'll see what Willow has to say. I won't make any decisions until then."

"Thank you. Besides that, I don't think Steve would be happy if you weren't at the wedding. I know I wouldn't be."

He smiled. "I won't miss that. Even if Willow can't help, I won't miss my best friend in the entire world finally tying the knot."

"What about the birth of his kid?"

Bucky chuckled. "You're trying to keep me from going under."

"If it's the right thing to do for yourself, then I won't stop you. But I think you'll be fine here for a while. Besides, it'll be nice to have someone to talk to while Steve's out fighting the good fight since I've been forbidden to leave. T'Challa has some amazing doctors here and Steve doesn't want to risk being away from them if anything…. Happens."

"What could happen?"

"Well, a Slayer has never been pregnant that I know of. I know of one that had a kid, but that was before she was called. What if I'm not…. Designed…. To carry life."

"You're doing it right now."

She shrugged. "There's also never been a super solider that's gotten someone pregnant. There's no telling what this baby could be like between the two of us. And I'm still only in the first trimester. That's the most dangerous part. Anything could happen, but we're hoping for the best. So, I get to stay near the doctors."

Steve walked in and smiled at the homely scene in front of him. "Everything is all set. Hopefully in two days we'll get our friends out of the Raft."

"And in three days I'll squeeze into that dress and we'll have a party."

Steve rolled his eyes playfully. "You're not even showing yet, Buff." He sat down on the couch next to her.

"Yeah, but I will be."

"You will still be beautiful." Steve looked at Bucky. "How's the arm coming, pal?"

"They're working on it." Bucky said.

Steve looked between Bucky and Buffy. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No. We were just talking about the baby."

"Uncle Bucky has a good ring to it."

Bucky smiled. "Yeah. It does. You're going to be a great dad, Steve."

"It's because I'll have a great partner." Steve wrapped an arm around Buffy. "I still feel like I interrupted a more serious conversation."

"We were also talking about Willow hopefully being able to remove the trigger words that Hydra put in his head." Buffy said.

Steve nodded. "Well, with Zemo out of the picture, we've got plenty of time to work on it."

"Very optimistic, Steve." Bucky said. "If it doesn't work, though…. I want to go back under." Steve's face darkened slightly. "Me, James Buchannan Barnes me, wants nothing more than to do good for the people I care about. Which, at the moment, is only two and a half people because everyone else is gone. But the Winter Solider part of me is extremely dangerous. He can't be brought out again. Ever."

"It's his decision, Steve." Buffy said softly.

Steve nodded. "I know."

"It's only if Willow can't do anything about it." Bucky said, trying to be reassuring. "If she can get this stuff out of my head…."

"You'll have a life to try and lead." Steve finished.

Bucky sighed. "I guess. But what kind of life would it be? People know what I did. They would come for me."

"We wouldn't let them."

"Even after everything you've been through, how are you still so optimistic?"

"It's in my DNA."

* * *

Buffy paced back and forth like a caged tiger. Bucky watched her, trying not to let her nerves affect him. T'Challa stood next to the window staring out. They were waiting for news from Steve that he had gotten their friends out of the Raft. It had been twelve hours since he had left for the mission.

"I should've gone with him." Buffy said.

T'Challa looked over at her. "No one would have let you go."

"Damn right." Bucky said.

"I don't see how anyone could've stopped me." She growled.

"You're just scared and hormonal."

Buffy leveled an icy glare at Bucky. "Of course I am! I haven't heard anything for twelve hours! For all I know, my fiancé got captured and is stuck in that prison now, too! They really don't want a scared and hormonal Slayer coming after them."

"I'm sure it would be an interesting sight." Steve said, suddenly standing in the doorway. Buffy, Bucky, and T'Challa all turned.

"You're back!" Buffy was across the room and in Steve's arms, holding him tightly. "Where is everyone?"

"They're down in medical getting checked out. Wanda and Willow had electrical shock collars to keep them from doing magic."

"What?" Buffy's voice got dangerously low.

Steve's grip tightened around her. "They're ok. They're getting checked out."

"Where's Sam?"

"He's down there, too with everyone else."  
"Were you followed?" T'Challa asked.

"No. I took everyone out when I got there. The jet is safely back in the hanger." Steve turned when he realized Buffy had moved away from him and was heading towards medical. He exchanged looks with Bucky and followed her. The two of them caught up just outside of the medical doors. She burst in and looked frantically around.

"Willow!" Buffy rushed over to her best friend in the entire world and pushed the probing doctors away, pulling the redhead into a tight embrace. "Are you ok? What did they do to you? I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you behind. I'm so sorry."

"I'm ok." Willow said, hugging Buffy back. "I'm ok, Buffy. Don't worry. You had to go."

Sam came up and scooped Buffy into a tight hug, lifting her off the ground. "I'm really glad you're ok."

"Sam!" Buffy hugged him back tightly. "I'm really glad _you're_ ok. All of you." Clint had walked over to join them and took his turn hugging Buffy. "Where's Wanda?"

"Here," Wanda walked up to them looking pale and gaunt.

"Oh, Wanda." Buffy hugged her firmly. "I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, Buffy."

"We're back together now." Clint said. "That's the important part."

"What's the next part, though? What now?" Sam asked.

"Now we get ready for a wedding." Steve said.

"You two finally getting hitched?" Clint asked.

"Well, we kind of have to make our little family of three official."

"Family of three?" Sam asked, exchanging looks with Clint. "You guys adopting Bucky?"

Steve chuckled and glanced at his best friend as Buffy said, "In about six months, there's going to be a third Rogers hanging around."

"Are you pregnant?" Willow asked Buffy. Buffy nodded. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I found out at the airport. Vision…. He knew. And Tony used his scanners on his suit to confirm. Not to mention all the tests the doctors did here. I'm almost fourteen weeks."

"Holy shit!" Sam cried, picking Buffy up in another bear hug. "Congratulations!"

Everyone began to congratulate the couple and ask questions on how she found out and how she was feeling. Willow, while happy and giving out congratulations of her own, could sense the hesitation in her best friend's happiness.

It wasn't until later that night that she could finally talk to Buffy. They were curled up on the couch in the apartment and Willow was holding the framed ultrasound picture. Wanda was there, too, leaning against Buffy and looking at the picture. Steve, Bucky, Sam, Clint, and Scott were somewhere else talking about what had happened in Siberia.

"Are you sure you're ok with this?" Willow asked.

Buffy sighed. "It's not ideal. I mean, I definitely never pictured starting a family in hiding in a foreign country. But, it's the hand that's been dealt to us. We'll deal with it as best we can."

"Will you stay in Wakanda?" Wanda asked.

"No. This is temporary. We're planning to move somewhere else."

"Where?"  
"Don't know yet."

"We can't be separated." Buffy and Willow looked over at Wanda as the girl sat up straight. "We need to stay together to protect one another."

"Actually, I know where we can go." Willow said.

"Where?" Buffy asked.

"The old Slayer HQ. It's been completely abandoned since the new one in New York opened. I can put wards up around it and a cloaking spell to make outsiders think it's still abandoned. There's plenty of space for us all to live there. We can get Clint's family over there, too."

"That's a great idea!" Wanda said.  
"That's not bad at all, Will." Buffy agreed. "We can put word out to the Slayers who didn't sign the Accords to come there. We'll be safe under your protections. It'll be like a secret Avengers HQ."

"Secret Avengers." Wanda said. "I like that."

* * *

Buffy looked down at herself and smiled. The wedding dress fit her perfectly. Her hair was done in simple waves and was parted to the side. She was wearing simple ivory ballet flats with a little bit of sparkle to them. The bouquet she was holding was made of pretty blue flowers that had been picked from T'Challa's gardens. Willow, Wanda, Bucky, and Sam stood around with Clint and Scott waiting for Buffy to walk down the makeshift aisle. Steve was standing with T'Challa on a small raised platform eying the entrance to the private oasis. The spot T'Challa had chosen for the ceremony was in the back of the gardens near the edge of a cliff. It had an amazing view of the jungle around the palace.

Buffy couldn't bring herself to take the first steps yet, though. Finally, after waiting five long minutes, Steve came back with his eyes covered. "Is everything ok?"

She smiled at him talking with his eyes covered. "Yeah. Sorry. I, uh…." Buffy sighed and reached up to take Steve's hands away from his eyes.

"No! It's bad luck to see you before the wedding."

"It's ok, Steve." She held his hands and he opened his eyes.

"Wow. You look…. Wow."

"Thank you." Buffy reached out and ran her free hand down Steve's chest. He was wearing a black three piece suit and had a dark blue tie on. "You look pretty wow yourself."

Steve squeezed her hands. "Is everything ok?"

She sighed. "There's so many people that should be here and they aren't. Giles was supposed to give me away and I can't even call him and tell him that we're getting married. My sister was supposed to be here but I can't have her here because she might be being watched by the US government to get to us. Tony, Nat, Angel…. We drew a line in the sand and this is part of the consequences. I was just…. Mourning their absences."

Steve pulled her to him and hugged her tightly. "We don't have to do this, Buffy. We can wait if you want to."

"I don't want to. I want to marry you. Now. I'm just…. A little sad."

He glanced behind him. "Stay here."

"Ok." Buffy said to his back as he disappeared around the corner and back up the aisle.

A minute later, Willow came back and joined her best friend. "Ok, let's get this show on the road." She held her arm out for Buffy to loop hers through. "Don't think I won't remind Steve when I give your hand to him that I'll turn him into a toad if he hurts you."

Buffy smiled brightly and stuck her arm through Willow's. "Let's go."

There weren't many people in attendance, so there weren't any chairs. Scott was there, standing off to the side, with Clint. Clint had a fancy looking camera in his hand and he smiled as he took pictures of Buffy walking towards Steve. T'Challa was at the head of everything behind Steve. Steve had the biggest smile on his face as he watched her. Willow made good on her word and Steve nodded solemnly, swearing that he would never hurt Buffy in a million years.

"As King of Wakanda," T'Challa began. "It is my honor and pleasure to bind these two people in matrimony. Though I have only known them a short time, they have shown me what true companionship looks like. I have no doubt in my mind that they will uphold the sacred values of marriage with diligence, understanding, and above all, love. I was asked to keep this as short and sweet as possible, so I turn this ceremony over to Steve and Buffy to exchange their vows." He gestured at Steve and the Captain took a deep breath.

"Buffy Anne Summers, since the day you came into my life, you have been my best friend and confidant." He glanced at Sam and Bucky. "No offense, guys." They chuckled as Steve turned back to Buffy. "When I woke up in this really strange world and I realized that everyone I cared about was either gone or very old, I thought that I would never find my place in the 21st century. I struggled for a few months to come to terms with everything and then I climbed up on the rooftop of my apartment building and there you were. You were my teammate, my partner, and my friend without ever asking anything of me. You guided me through everything and introduced me to some wonderful friends. I honestly can't imagine what my life would be like without you by my side. Despite everything that's happened recently, I am so happy to be starting my family and my life with you now. I promise that I will always be there for you. That I will always love you and cherish you. No matter what life throws at us next. I love you, Buffy."

Buffy handed Wanda her bouquet and turned back to Steve, wiping away the tears. "Steven Grant Rogers, I love you. I promise that I will always love you. I promise that I will always be there for you no matter what. I promise to always try to be understanding. I promise that I won't ever turn my back on you. What we have is like nothing I've ever experienced before. You're my best friend, my lover, my partner in crime…. And I mean that literally now…. You're the father of my child, and in the next few minutes, you'll be my husband. I got very lucky when you climbed up on that rooftop and decided to stay with me."

T'Challa looked over at Willow and Bucky. "Steve has requested to have the traditional exchanging of rings, so if I may…." Willow and Bucky moved up, each holding the vibranium wedding rings that had been custom made for Steve and Buffy. Bucky handed Steve Buffy's ring. "Steve, repeat after me. I, Steven Rogers, take thee, Buffy Summers to be my wife."

"I, Steven Rogers, take thee, Buffy Summers to be my wife."

"To have and to hold, in sickness and in health,"

"To have and to hold, in sickness and in health,"

"For richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, I promise my love to you."

"For richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, I promise my love to you."

"And with this ring, I take you as my wife, for as long as we both shall live."

"And with this ring, I take you as my wife, for as long as we both shall live." Steve slipped the ring on Buffy's finger and ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"And now Buffy, repeat after me. I, Buffy Summers, take thee, Steven Rogers, to be my husband."

Buffy took the ring from Willow and held in on Steve's ring finger. "I, Buffy Summers, take thee, Steven Rogers, to be my husband."

"To have and to hold, in sickness and in health,"

"To have and to hold, in sickness and in health,"

"For richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, I promise my love to you."

"For richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, I promise my love to you."

"And with this ring, I take you as my husband, for as long as we both shall live."

"And with this ring, I take you as my husband, for as long as we both shall live." She slid the ring home and they looked at each other with giant grins on their faces.

"Ladies and gentleman, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Rogers." T'Challa said. "Steve, you may now kiss your bride."

Steve grabbed Buffy to him, lifting her off the ground, and kissed her fiercely as everyone around them applauded. Willow and Wanda used their magic to make flower petals rain down like confetti.


End file.
